The U.S. government is trying to speed up the processing of asylum claims at the northern border in an effort to thwart illegal immigration from Canada.
Washington is making two changes to the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), which requires asylum seekers to make their refugee claim in the first of two countries they enter.
First, immigrants who want to prove they are exempt from the STCA will need to show documentation to US border officials at the time of their arrest. Previously, immigrants were allowed to delay their arrest in order to gather the necessary paperwork.
Second, the amount of time immigrants can consult with a lawyer before their case is heard will be reduced from 24 hours to four hours.
The change was first reported by CBS News, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the change to CBC News.
“The Department of Homeland Security has carefully reviewed the implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada and has concluded that border processing can be streamlined without affecting foreign nationals’ ability to access full and fair procedures for determining their asylum claims or equivalent temporary protection claims,” the department said in a media statement.
The number of people illegally crossing into the United States from Canada has increased sharply in recent years.
In the first six months of 2024, Border Patrol detained 12,612 migrants who crossed the U.S.-Canada border illegally. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection:That’s up from 12,218 in all of 2023 and more than the number of people detained in 2021 and 2022 combined.
Earlier this year, Ottawa reimposed some visa requirements for Mexican nationals. Visiting Canada, Respond to a request from Washington To stop illegal border crossings into the U.S. Since then, the number of Mexican migrants attempting to cross the border from Canada into the U.S. has decreased.
In 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden announced they would modify the STCA by expanding its coverage to the entire Canada-U.S. border, not just official points of entry.
