U.S. eyes renegotiating border agreement with Canada

OTTAWA–Canada and the United States are closer to renegotiating a border agreement that has governed the treatment of asylum claimants along the shared border for almost two decades.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed Monday it has asked the State Department for permission to negotiate amendments to the Safe Third Country Agreement, but did not say what changes it is seeking.

Under the agreement, asylum claimants must make their case to the first safe country they arrive in. Canada considers the U.S. a safe country, which allows Canadian border officials to turn back non-American asylum seekers who attempt to make claims at U.S. border crossings into Canada.

There’s a so-called “loophole,” however: If prospective asylum claimants make it onto Canadian soil outside a regular border checkpoint, they’re entitled to have their claim assessed by the Canadian government.

Approximately 40,000 “irregular” migrants have crossed into Canada that way since 2017, coinciding with the Trump administration’s decision to crack down on illegal immigration and revoke deportation protections for a number of minority groups living in the U.S.

Bill Blair, the minister of border security and organized crime, confirmed he has been speaking with U.S. officials on how to address the loophole, but said there have been no formal negotiations between the two countries.

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