World

US And Canada Reach Deal To Reject Asylum Seekers

The United States And Canada Have Reached A Deal To Reject Asylum Seekers At Unofficial Border Crossings.


24th March 2023 12:01 PM

The United States and Canada have reached a deal to reject asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings.

The move closes a loophole created by a 2004 asylum agreement with the US on where migrants have to make their asylum claims, as a large number of migrants have been making unsanctioned crossings on Roxham Road at the US-Canada border.

As a part of the deal, Canada will now also create a new refugee programme for about 15 thousand migrants fleeing persecution and violence in South and Central America.

President Biden, who visited Ottawa, Canada, to talk about a series of economic, trade and immigration issues with Trudeau, has announced the migration accord before returning to the US.

The agreement is expected to allow officials on both sides of the border to turn back asylum seekers heading in either direction, as the move is part of efforts to limit an influx of migrants at Roxham Road, an unofficial crossing between New York state and the province of Quebec.

The deal is an amendment to the two sides' 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement, which requires migrants to make an asylum claim in the first "safe" country they reach, whether it is the US or Canada.

The new arrangement would close a loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement that prevented Canada from turning away those crossing the border at unofficial crossing points.

The loophole had led migrants to enter Canada from places like Roxham Road.

New York City authorities last month said they were providing free bus tickets for migrants to travel up towards the US border with Canada.