Canada and the United States have agreed to implement safe third country agreements across their shared borders to deter irregular immigration crossings at unofficial gateways such as Wroxham Road.
The changes will take effect at midnight on Saturday, according to a joint statement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden on Friday.
Canada also agreed to welcome 15,000 more immigrants from the Western Hemisphere over the next year as part of the deal.
The deal came during Biden’s first official visit to Canada as president. The details were released shortly after he finished his speech to a joint session of Congress in the House of Representatives.
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On Wroxham Road, the Immigrants reach an uncertain ending to their harrowing journey — ‘They’re scared’
Since 2004, the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) has required asylum seekers to apply in the first “safe” country of arrival. In practice, Canadian border officials are meant to turn back asylum-seekers who appear at official checkpoints from the United States, but they are also forced to turn back asylum-seekers who cross irregularly across places such as Wroxham Road in Quebec. No need to turn back.
About 40,000 immigrants entered Canada from Wroxham Road last year, according to federal data. In December alone, 4,689 migrants crossed this border. This will surpass all asylum seekers arriving in Canada in 2021.
A surge in immigrant border crossings at unofficial entry points like Wroxham Road and Emerson, Manitoba, has strained resources in nearby communities, particularly Montreal, and led to Quebec Prime Minister Francois Legault and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poirivre. He called on the federal government to shut down Wroxham. completely road.
Trudeau said before Biden’s visit that the STCA should be renegotiated to address irregular crossings. But government sources told Global News on Thursday that Canadian and U.S. officials are trying to avoid opening a deal to an amendment that would require approval from the tightly divided U.S. Senate.
Both sides wanted a solution that could be implemented quickly, according to the source.
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