The “record levels of migration in our hemisphere,” according to President Biden, will be addressed in Washington and Canada.
A new immigration strategy that would alter how they accept asylum applicants has been revealed by the US and Canada. The agreement permits both nations to turn away migrants who enter through irregular border crossings, despite Ottawa’s pledge to welcome 15,000 more.
On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden presented the new deal, stating it will improve the “fairness” of the immigration process.
On a visit to Canada, he praised Trudeau for “opening up legal paths for up to 15,000 migrants to come to Canada from countries in the Western Hemisphere” and added, “We’re also making good on our pledge to address the record levels of migration in our hemisphere.”
Before to a 2004 agreement between Washington and Ottawa, asylum seekers could submit their claims at any lawful point of entry into Canada, but now they must do so in the nation where they arrive first after leaving their home country.
Tens of thousands of migrants have still applied for asylum through shady border crossings in Canada over the years, ostensibly in an effort to circumvent the laws. In only one year, around 40,000 individuals crossed into Canada at unauthorised crossing sites along New York State’s border.
The 2004 accord will essentially be extended to span the entire 5,500-mile US-Canada border, not just authorised ports of entry, under the new arrangement, which gives Ottawa the authority to deny asylum applications at such unauthorised ports.
The 2004 agreement, known as the “Safe Third Country Agreement,” was previously criticised by immigration activists who claimed it encouraged asylum applicants to take longer, riskier journeys to reach regular border posts.
Biden mistakenly praised China when praising Trudeau for agreeing to welcome 15,000 extra migrants when the agreement goes into force on Saturday, setting off a riot of laughing from a group of Canadian parliamentarians.
“Today, I commend China for taking up… You can tell what I’m thinking, it’s about China, he hastily added after saying, “Forgive me, I congratulate Canada. Will not discuss that at this time.
Border agents reported about 2.4 million interactions with unauthorised immigrants alone in 2022, the great majority of them were from Central and South America. The US has also seen a significant wave of illegal immigration in recent years.
