What the new US-Canada border deal means for asylum seekers

Rights advocates say expanded border restrictions will push asylum seekers to take riskier journeys to seek protection. “The United States and Canada will work together to discourage unlawful border crossings and fully implement the updated Safe Third Country Agreement,” US President Joe Biden said during an address to the Canadian parliament in Ottawa on Friday afternoon. The Reuters news agency reported on Friday that “according to a final rule set to be published in the US Federal Register, the revised agreement will apply to anyone who makes ‘an asylum or other protection claim’ in either country within 14 days of crossing the border.” Separately, Canada also agreed to take in “an additional 15,000 migrants on a humanitarian basis” from countries in the western hemisphere, “such as Haiti, Colombia, and Ecuador, over the course of the year”, the White House said. The new deal means that both Canada and the US may turn back asylum seekers who are already in their respective countries, closing the STCA’s loophole. “This is very dangerous,” said Frantz Andre, spokesperson and coordinator of Comite d’action des personnes sans statut, a Montreal-based group that provides support for asylum seekers and others without immigration status.