Biden-Harris admin to speed up asylum processing at US-Canada border as number of illegal immigrants skyrocket

The US and Canada have a Safe Third Country Agreement whereby either country can return asylum seekers that cross into its territory because both countries are assumed to be “safe” to live in. The treaty was expanded in 2023 to require illegal immigrants to have their documents on hand to see if they are subject to the agreement. Previously, illegal immigrants could ask for more time to obtain documentation. Unaccompanied children and illegal immigrants who already have family in the US are not subject to the treaty.

The agreement will also be changed so that illegal immigrants now have a four-hour minimum to consult with lawyers, not 24 hours.

Illegal immigrants who are judged to be subject to the Safe Third Country Agreement cannot enter the US and must go back to Canada. Those trying to enter Canada from the US who are not exempt from the agreement must return to the US.

The new policy update took effect on Wednesday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acknowledged the policy change in communication with CBS News, declaring it is committed to "deliver tough consequences for noncitizens who do not have a lawful basis to remain in the United States."

"DHS carefully reviewed its implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada and concluded that it could streamline that process at the border without impacting noncitizens' ability to have access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum or equivalent temporary protection," the department told CBS.

Illegal crossings at the northern border have jumped in fiscal year 2024. Customs and Border Patrol agents have captured 16,500 illegal immigrants so far: that is up from 10,000 in 2023 and 2,200 in 2022. The current number of apprehensions is the highest on record.

Although the border with Canada greatly outstretches that with Mexico, it has always required fewer resources from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) because it has never posed an illegal immigration problem. The geography between Canada and the US – forests, mountains and lakes – makes it more difficult to patrol as well. Most border incursions from Canada to the US occur in northern New York and Vermont, along the Ontario and Quebec borders.

The crisis at the southern border continues to plague America. A caravan left from Mexico's southern border in late July, hoping to cross into the US before the potential reelection of former President Donald Trump. In February, CBP provided a conservative estimate of the number of illegal immigrants who have entered the US since the inauguration of President Joe Biden: 7.2 million.