Ottawa and Washington have reached an agreement to prevent thousands of people from the United States from entering Canada irregularly, a senior US official has said.
The same source indicated that Canadian officials would commit to receiving 15,000 migrants from the American continent next year, in accordance with the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, which was signed by the United States, Canada and 18 other countries on the continent. Had done Summit of the Americas last year.
Asylum seekers from Afghanistan entering Canada from the US REUTERS/Christine Muschi/File photo
In exchange, Washington would agree to revise the Third Safe Country Agreement, which governs refugee claims between Canada and the United States, so that Ottawa can turn away irregular migrants.
Currently, a legal loophole in the agreement prevents the deportation of irregular immigrants seeking asylum in Canada.
In 2022 alone, 40,000 people entered Canada through Roxham Road, a point on the border between New York State and the Canadian province of Quebec.
Biden is making his first official visit to the country
In December it emerged that New York authorities were providing transport for thousands of people up Roxham Road in a bid to rid the city of migrants.
The Quebec government and Canada’s opposition Conservative Party have said the arrival of thousands of migrants is unsustainable and have called on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to close Roxham Road.
Biden (D) greets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. AP Photo/Andrew Harnick
Details of the deal are expected to be announced by US President Joe Biden and Trudeau on Friday, following a bilateral meeting the two will hold in Ottawa.
Biden arrived in Canada this Thursday, on his first official visit to the country, to discuss with Trudeau, among other issues, migrant flows between the two countries, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Haiti.
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