U.S. strikes deal with Canada over northern border, asylum-seekers
The U.S. and Canada have struck an agreement that allows each country to turn back asylum-seekers who cross the northern border without authorization, according to internal documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times and a source familiar with the negotiations.
The deal is the latest expansion of President Joe Biden’s efforts to discourage asylum-seekers from entering the U.S. without authorization. The new policy, which applies to people without U.S. or Canadian citizenship who are caught within 14 days of crossing the border between the two countries, is expected to take effect soon.
The U.S. hopes the pact will “reduce incentives” to cross the border irregularly, according to the source, who was granted anonymity in order to discuss a still-confidential agreement. The negotiations, which have been taking place for several years, were motivated by recent increases in the number of unauthorized crossings of the border in both directions, the source said.
Both the U.S. and Canada have struggled to deal with people who cross their borders without permission. Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are expected to begin a series of meetings on Thursday in Ottawa to discuss key strategic interests, including migration.
The new deal is an update to the so-called Safe Third Country Agreement between the two countries. That agreement, which took effect in 2004, has long required migrants who enter through an official port of entry to seek asylum in the country they pass through.
The old agreement, however, did not apply to people who crossed the northern border without permission.
As part of the agreement, Canada is expected to announce 15,000 slots for migrants from the Western Hemisphere to apply to enter the country legally, the source familiar with the negotiations said.
The Biden administration has shifted its immigration strategy in recent months with the aim of deterring migrants from attempting to cross the southern border. Border crossings, which had increased for months, dipped dramatically in February after the U.S. began using Title 42, a public health law, to turn back Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians and Nicaraguans to Mexico. At the same time, the administration also offered people from the four countries new legal ways to come to the U.S.
The administration also plans to implement a new rule at the southern border limiting asylum access for those who cross that border without authorization.
The new agreement with Canada, along with Ottawa’s decision to offer 15,000 new slots for legal entry, is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to work with other countries to increase consequences for people crossing without authorization while at the same time opening up legal pathways for migrants, the source explained.
The drop in border crossings in February proves that the new approach is already working at the southwest border, the source argued.