Since this weekend, it has become more difficult for asylum seekers to enter Canadian territory from the United States. In the background of the agreement, the question of the “Roxham path” in particular, this makeshift route by which tens of thousands of migrants bypassed the official entry points.
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Since March 25, 2023, asylum seekers can be turned back all along the border between the United States and Canada. Until last week, it was possible to pass through unofficial border points. The best known of these was “Roxham Road”, a short stretch of road south of Montreal. A few days ago, we witnessed the attempted crossing of a Haitian man, intercepted by the Canadian police.
“- Stop sir! Do you understand French?
– Yes.
– You are currently in the United States. This is Canada, okay?
– Yes.
– This is not a designated entrance to cross legally. If you cross here, we’ll arrest you. Have you understood ?
– Yes I understood.”
Those arriving on this path were actually arrested. But the authorities registered their asylum applications and more than half of them were accepted.
A closure that worries NGOs
Nearly 40,000 migrants were able to enter Canadian territory last year via the “Roham route” thanks to a legal loophole. The “safe third country” agreement defined in 2004 by Canada and the United States provides that an asylum seeker is obliged to make his request in the first so-called “safe” country in which he arrives.
However, by going through unofficial points, he could declare having arrived directly in Canada, deemed more welcoming, and not having passed through the United States. But now, the Roxham road – like the whole border – is included in this agreement: asylum seekers arriving from the United States will therefore now be turned back there.
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This news worries NGOs because, for asylum seekers, arriving in Canada is the end of a long journey. Many are fleeing the violence of their country. They are Haitians, Colombians, Venezuelans… They therefore risk taking much more dangerous paths than the “Roxham”. In exchange for this road closure, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has however pledged to welcome 15,000 additional asylum seekers from the American continent.
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