(Ottawa) Mexico says asylum applications to Canada began to decline last month – a revelation that comes amid growing pressure on Ottawa to reimpose visas on Mexican citizens.
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said the drop in the number of complaints filed in December was due to undefined “joint measures” taken by the two countries.
Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller responded that he had yet to see evidence of the decline and remained tight-lipped on whether either country had changed its policies.
Asylum applications from Mexico have exploded in recent years, although the rate of Mexican applicants actually obtaining refugee status remains far lower than in other countries.
This is partly explained by the government’s decision in 2016 to lift the visa requirement, making it easier for Mexicans to apply for asylum in Canada.
The Conservatives want the Liberals to reverse this decision, arguing that the change has led to fraud, abuse and strain on the asylum system.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement Thursday evening that it was important to preserve the economic benefits of easy movement between the two countries.
Marc Miller echoed that point earlier this week and said on Monday that the two countries were exploring options to reduce the number of claims, adding that he avoided giving further details to avoid exploitation of the system by actors with bad intentions.
However, he did not confirm on Thursday whether policies had changed following these diplomatic negotiations.
“Any action can obviously lead to a reaction,” Miller said. Obviously this is a sensitive subject. »
Miller added that “Mexico is only part of the story” of irregular immigration, and he reiterated that bad actors would exploit the system if Ottawa was completely transparent with the measures that make it up.
Asked if the policies have led to any changes in the number of claims, Miller said he hasn’t seen any yet.
The Biden administration has warned that human traffickers linked to Mexican cartels could exploit Canada’s visa waiver regime to facilitate the entry of people into the United States.
Indeed, the shared border is becoming a political issue in both countries, said David MacNaughton, who served as Canada’s ambassador to Washington during Donald Trump’s first term as president.
The U.S.-Mexico border has long been a central plank of Trump’s policies, and likely will be for President Joe Biden’s as a rematch of their 2020 election battle looms on the horizon .
However, Republicans in Congress have worked to bring the U.S.-Canada border into the debate over illegal immigration in recent months.
“More and more, we’re hearing complaints about the northern border” in the United States, David MacNaughton noted during a webinar hosted by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
“It’s not just a Mexican problem, it’s actually a reflection, I think, of a kind of growing isolationism and protectionism in the United States. »
Quebec Premier François Legault addressed the increase in the number of Mexican asylum seekers in a letter last week to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, warning that provincial services offered were reaching a “breaking point.”
Mexico’s statement emphasized that Quebec in particular benefits from cultural, tourism and scientific exchanges.
The ministry says Mexico and Canada agree on the need for a “constructive approach and a comprehensive dialogue that takes into account all factors” leading to irregular immigration.
With information from Laura Osman