The U.S. and Canada have reached a deal that allows both countries to turn away asylum seekers.
The agreement will be announced during President Joe Biden's official visit to Ottawa today.
- The deal will allow Canada to turn away asylum seekers at Roxham Road, an unofficial border crossing used by many asylum seekers trying to enter Canada from New York.
- In
exchange, Canada plans to establish a program to support a legal
pathway for 15,000 migrants from South and Central America in a bid to
reduce pressure on America's southern border.
- The deal comes
months after Ottawa started pushing for change to a 2004 migration
treaty that prevents Canada from returning asylum seekers to the U.S. if
they enter Canada through unofficial border crossings.
Zoom Out:
- The deal is expected to anger refugee advocates who have already expressed disapproval at Biden's efforts to crack down on the movement of asylum seekers over the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Trudeau has been under pressure to clamp down on migration to Canada after the country received almost 40,000 asylum seekers in 2022, twice as many as in 2019.
- Altogether, Canada welcomed over 437,000 new immigrants in 2022
