U.S. and Canada Reach Agreement to Restrict Certain Migrants from Seeking Asylum in Canada

The U.S. and Canada have reached an agreement on changes to a decades-old asylum agreement that would restrict certain migrants from seeking protections in Canada. This comes as illegal border crossings into the Swanton Sector of the U.S. border, which covers New Hampshire, Vermont and part of northern New York, have increased by a factor of 10 during a recent five-month stretch compared to the same period last year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

From October 1 to February 28, about 2,000 migrants were apprehended crossing the border illegally in the sector, compared to just 200 in the same period the previous year. The agreement was reached ahead of President Biden’s visit to Canada, and is intended to address the sharp increase of people crossing into Canada from the US – some of whom are believed to have initially crossed the US southern border.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced blowback domestically over hundreds of people crossing the border illegally, and the new agreement is intended to address the issue. The agreement would require migrants to request asylum in the first safe country they enter, which in this case would be the United States.

Illegal crossings into the U.S. from Canada have climbed to historically high levels, although they are still a fraction of the crossings into the U.S. from Mexico. The agreement between the U.S. and Canada is expected to be signed in the coming weeks. It is unclear how the agreement will affect the number of illegal crossings into the U.S. from Canada.