Ottawa deems American tightening of asylum seekers to be compliant

Photo: Aaron Lynett The Canadian Press Migrants from Canada will now have just four hours, rather than 24, to consult with a lawyer before filing an asylum claim in the United States.

The Canadian Press in Washington

Published at 1:08 p.m. Updated at 2:45 p.m.

• Canada

The federal government says procedural changes planned by the United States to tighten rules for asylum seekers from Canada are consistent with the Safe Third Country Agreement.

The changes “do not impact the terms of the agreement or the criteria for exemptions or exceptions under the agreement,” said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson Matthew Krupovich.

“We are in regular contact with the United States on a range of issues and continue to work with them on this and other areas of border cooperation,” Krupovich said in an emailed statement.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed Tuesday that it has reviewed the Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada and concluded that it could streamline the process without affecting access to fair procedures for determining an asylum claim.

Under the agreement, which came into effect in 2004, asylum seekers must apply for asylum in the first country they arrive in.

People entering the United States from Canada and filing an asylum claim will now have four hours to consult with a lawyer instead of 24 hours.

The change also means that border officials will only consider documentary evidence that asylum seekers have with them when they arrive. Previously, people could ask for more time to gather evidence.

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Jamie Chai Yun Liew, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, said the Canadian government’s response has been disappointing.

“It clearly shows to me that they are prioritizing efficient processing at the border over humanitarian concerns and commitments to international refugee law,” she said in an email.

She was part of a legal team that intervened when the deal was challenged before the Supreme Court of Canada, which ultimately ruled last year that the pact with the U.S. was constitutional.

More influx from Canada to the United States

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden updated the Safe Third Country Agreement around the same time to close a loophole that allowed people who bypassed official border crossings to apply.

That led to a dramatic drop in the number of people crossing into Canada from the United States through unofficial border crossings, but the number of people travelling in the opposite direction has started to increase.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows that agents arrested more than 12,000 people along the border with Canada in the first six months of 2024, already more arrests than were made in all of 2023.

The number of migrants crossing between Canada and the United States is far lower than the U.S.-Mexico border. But the new rules at the Canada-U.S. border mirror changes that were made to the southern U.S. border earlier this year because of time constraints.

Biden made sweeping changes to the border with Mexico in June. Migration is an issue both parties are keen to target ahead of the November election.