Thousands of migrants fleeing President Trump’s deportation orders are flocking to Canada, causing a surge in asylum seekers unprecedented in recent years.
According to data from the Canadian Border Services Agency, at least 1,411 migrants attempted to cross the border in upstate New York during the first two weeks of April.
That’s more than the entire month of March, when 1,356 people traveled, which was already double the previous months’ average.
And this is just the number of people presenting themselves to Canadian authorities to seek asylum; the actual number of border-crossers is likely much higher, with many attempting to illegally cross the largely unguarded border.
The majority of those fleeing the United States are Haitians attempting to travel to French-speaking Quebec.
However, unlike during the first Trump administration, when former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed migrants with open arms, Canada is now saying no thanks.
“There are limits,” Trudeau’s successor, Mark Carney, stated during a leader’s debate in Montreal this week. “We must be human – but realistic. Canada cannot accept everyone.”
So far this year, Canadian authorities have returned 1,130 asylum seekers to the United States.
The surge follows Trump’s threats to deport approximately 530,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who were granted legal status during the Biden administration.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the termination of the scheme, known as the CHNV parole program, arguing that there were no urgent humanitarian reasons for their continued presence in the United States, as Biden claimed.
This week, a Boston federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the CHNV program from being terminated, but the administration is refusing to comply.
“While this ruling delays justice and undermines the integrity of our immigration system, Secretary Noem will use every legal option at the Department’s disposal to end this chaos, prioritizing the safety of Americans,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Post, calling the Biden-era program “an unlawful scheme to unleash… poorly vetted aliens into America.”
Because of the Safe Third Country Agreement between the United States and Canada, migrants who arrive via the United States are unable to legally claim asylum in Canada, as both countries are safe and they should make a claim wherever they arrive first.
The agreement only allows for exceptions if the asylum seeker’s family member is a permanent resident or a Canadian citizen.
The Canadian Border Services Agency has pledged to increase removals and says it has sent more resources to the border to deal with the increased influx.
“The CBSA has increased removals of inadmissible people from Canada – the most in a decade,” the law enforcement agency reported. “If a person fails to meet an exception… he or she will be returned to the United States.”
