Thousands of Latin American migrants who were heading to Canada as an alternative to the United States due to the recent immigration restrictions imposed by the US government will be affected by a new deportation policy signed between Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced this Friday that the country will begin to deport migrants and refugees who arrive in the country from the United States through unofficial entry points starting this Saturday, March 25.
The measure, which will greatly affect Latino migrants who choose Canada as their destination instead of the United States, was announced during a joint press conference between Trudeau and US President Joe Biden, after both countries signed a new immigration agreement. .
“Border agents will enforce the agreement starting at midnight tonight and will deport irregular crossers to the nearest US border point,” the Canadian president announced.
As a counterpart to this measure that seeks to penalize those who enter the country irregularly, Canada promised to welcome 15,000 migrants from countries of the American continent next year.
The pact seeks to satisfy the concerns that Canada has expressed about the growing number of asylum seekers, many from Latin America, who have arrived in its territory in recent months due to the difficulty of doing so in the United States, due to restrictive measures imposed by the Biden administration.
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Previously, under the so-called Safe Third Country Agreement of 2004, Canada could return to the United States those who tried to enter illegally through official entry points, but it did not clarify what happened to refugees and migrants who crossed through other points. .
Thousands of migrants have used this legal loophole to enter Canadian territory through the Roxham Road border crossing between the Canadian province of Quebec and the US state of New York.
In 2022 alone, 40,000 people entered through that point, sparking the anger of the Quebec government, and the opposition Conservative Party of Canada, who asked Trudeau to close Roxham Road.
With information from swissinfo
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