US signs an agreement with Canada to stop illegal immigration

Ottawa/Washington: US President is visiting Canada, during which an agreement has been announced with Canada to prevent illegal immigration from the border connecting Mexico. The agreement will allow the US and Canada to deny entry of refugees and deport them. In 2022, about a million immigrants crossed the US-Canada border.

For a few years, illegal immigration into the US from Mexico from the southern borders has been a major issue. Former President Trump had implemented stringent policies which curbed immigration to an extent. However, President Biden’s liberal policies to relax the borders has seen millions of illegal immigrants entering the US every month. According to reports, more than a million refugees attempted to cross over to the US in the last five months.

Along with the Mexican borders, there is an issue of immigration from the Canadian border. An agreement signed in 2004 allows detention at official entry points by both countries. There are 100 official entry points. However, many other illegal crossover points across the borders are used for infiltration by active gangs for human trafficking.

The US- Canada border is about 9000 km long. In 2021, nearly 27 thousand people attempted to infiltrate. In just one year, the number has increased to about 100 thousand, indicating that the Canadian border is becoming porous as the Mexican border. This is a major cause of concern and was raised in the US Congress. President Biden seems to have acted on this by visiting Canada to sign an agreement to allow both countries to detain and deport immigrants.

Both the US and Canada have welcomed the agreement with claims that infiltration will be prevented. However, the agreement is being criticized by Canada and the voluntary groups, which feel this will increase the influence of human trafficking gangs.

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