Asylum seekers continue to cross border in shutdown
OTTAWA — Asylum seekers continue to cross the Canada-U.S. border despite the widespread closure that remains in effect to all but non-essential travel.
New statistics show 21 people were apprehended by the RCMP crossing into Canada from the U.S. in May, up from six who were stopped in April. That was the first full month of the shutdown of the border between the two countries in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The closure deal carved out exceptions for essential travel, but those who were hoping to come to Canada from the U.S. to claim refugee status were told they would be turned back to the U.S. It was not immediately clear how many of the people who crossed in May were turned away. In late April, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair had said by that point, fewer than 10 had been turned back.
Since 2017, nearly 57,000 people have crossed the border between Canada and the U.S. using unofficial entry points so they are able to file for asylum.
They do so because of the Safe Third Country Agreement, which governs asylum claims between Canada and the U.S. It forbids most people from lodging a claim when they arrive at a formal border point.
The agreement is based on the premise that both Canada and the United States are safe and a refugee claimant should seek asylum in whichever of the two countries he or she enters first.
It does not forbid applications from people who are already on
Canadian soil, however, and there are exceptions for land-border claims as well.
All told, 1,390 claims for asylum were filed in Canada in May, and 1,570 in April, according to the newly published data from the Immigration Department.
The vast majority of what’s known as “irregular crossers” arrived in Quebec and, while awaiting decisions on claims, many have found work in health care.