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. Migration in both directions across the Canada-U.S. border is likely on the agenda today as Immigration Minister Sean Fraser visits Washington, D.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
WASHINGTON – Migration in both directions across the Canada-U.S. border is likely on the agenda today as Immigration Minister Sean Fraser visits Washington, D.C.
Fraser’s office says he is scheduled to meet with his American counterpart, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The federal Liberal government is under mounting pressure, particularly from Quebec, to do something about the flow of undocumented migrants into Canada from the U.S.
Some Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have been actively trying to make a political issue out of the number of migrants moving in the opposite direction.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has declared publicly that it’s time to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement between the two countries.
That agreement allows migrants to seek asylum in Canada if they enter the country at unofficial entry points, such as the one in Quebec known as Roxham Road.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2023.