A family of asylum seekers from Colombia is met by an RCMP officer after crossing the border at Roxham Road into Canada Thursday, February 9, 2023 in Champlain, New York. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
MONTREAL – A day after Quebec confirmed that asylum seekers who cross the border irregularly are being sent to other provinces, Premier François Legault called on the prime minister to discourage migrants from coming to Canada.
Legault told reporters he thinks many people are claiming asylum in Canada because of a 2017 Trudeau tweet saying the country would welcome people fleeing persecution.
The premier, who has maintained the province doesn’t have the capacity to welcome more people, says Trudeau should post a new tweet telling migrants not to come.
Quebec’s immigration minister said Tuesday that only eight of the roughly 380 asylum seekers who entered via the irregular Roxham Road border crossing on the weekend remained in the province, with the others being sent to other provinces.
Legault, who met with the U.S. ambassador to Canada on Tuesday, has also called for the agreement that prevents people who are in the United States from claiming asylum at official Canadian border posts to be extended to irregular border crossings.
The RCMP intercepted 39,000 people crossing the border irregularly in southern Quebec in 2022, up from 4,095 in 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2023.
