The United States and Canada reach a new agreement to allow both sides to repatriate asylum seekers

According to Reuters, Canadian government sources and US officials said on the 3rd that the United States and Canada have reached an agreement to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the land border to seek asylum, although some details still need to be finalized when the two sides meet.

On March 2023, 3, in Ottawa, Canada, US President Joe Biden and his wife were welcomed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will reportedly meet in Ottawa to discuss more details about revising the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) and officially announce it.

The new Safe Third Countries Agreement will allow U.S. and Canadian officials to repatriate asylum seekers. The new agreement is a revision of the two sides' 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement, which previously prevented Canada from refusing and repatriating those who crossed the border at unofficial border crossings.

The move is reportedly part of an effort to limit the influx of migrants into Roxham Road, an unofficial border crossing between New York and Quebec. Former US President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration led to an influx of asylum seekers into Canada, which led to an international spotlight in 2017.

According to the New York Times, U.S. officials said that as part of the agreement, Canada will establish a new refugee program for 15000,<> migrants fleeing South and Central America. The official said that eased the pressure to cross the border illegally from Mexico into the United States.

Infographic: US President Joe Biden. Photo: China News Agency reporter Sha Hanting

The agreement could further anger refugees. This follows Biden's announcement in January of a new policy to curb illegal border crossings. Under the new policy, the United States will ban more migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela from crossing the border to seek asylum, and crack down on those who enter the country illegally.

According to previous news from the White House, on the 23rd and 24th, Biden and his wife Jill visited Ottawa. During the two-day visit, Biden and Trudeau met to discuss a range of defense, economy, immigration and other issues, and address the Canadian Parliament on the bilateral relationship between the United States and Canada.