The federal government needs to do more to prevent the misuse of tourist visas by people coming to Canada, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said.
“We’ve had a number of different measures in place over the summer to specifically address the flow of people entering the country,” Miller told CBC News last week.
“And, to no surprise to anyone, we need to make a stronger effort to ensure that people who come to the United States on, say, a tourist visa, are coming for tourism purposes and not with the intent of seeking asylum or entering the United States.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported encountering 21,929 migrants between border crossings on the U.S. side of the Canada-U.S. border between October 2023 and August 2024, including 17,810 in the Swanton area along Quebec’s border with New York and Vermont.
While this figure is nowhere near the figures linked to the US southern border, it is more than double the 8,686 cases that occurred between US border crossings during the same period last year.
The year before, CBP encountered just 2,238 migrants between border crossings on the northern border.
Of the 21,929 people stopped by U.S. Border Patrol agents, 12,992 were from India, or about 60% of the total.
Miller said visa applicants from India may face increased scrutiny in future.
“There are large numbers of people from India and other countries who have applied for asylum but have not received a positive decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board. This indicates that further consideration needs to be given to the way visas are issued in the first place,” he said.
Miller did not provide details about new measures his department has adopted in response to the surge in border crossings, but his office said the administration is “reviewing measures to ensure visa integrity.”
“If I were to talk publicly about what steps we’ve taken to change how the taps are turned on, people would adjust to that, so I can’t give you all the details,” he said, “but we’re aware of it and we’re responding.”
The influx of immigrants has spawned a lucrative business, with social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok filled with posts from recent border crossing immigrants claiming it’s easy to fly to Montreal and then walk into the US from there.
Miller called the posts “very explicit.”
Miller said he has discussed the migration flow with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen.
“First and foremost, I think we have an obligation to the U.S. government to make sure that we’re both committed to keeping the border safe and secure,” Miller said.
The network that brings migrants to the U.S. through Canada operates by word of mouth, he said.
“It’s very sophisticated,” Miller said. “There are several criminal elements to it. It has to be addressed in a number of ways, including by making sure security agencies have all the information and tools they need to act.”