The United States and Canada have reached an agreement that will allow both countries to deter immigrants from crossing at the northern border following a yearslong influx by way of a dirt road in upstate New York.
The deal was reported by the Los Angeles Times and was meant to “reduce incentives” for people to cross the border illegally. It will allow Canada and the U.S. to turn back illegal immigrants if caught within two weeks of when they crossed the border.
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Attempting to stay in line with his liberal vision, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau framed the issue as harming legal immigrants, who yearn for a “rules-based” immigration system, CTV reported.
The administrations of President Joe Biden and Trudeau began working on the deal more than a year ago, and the Biden administration had quietly introduced a new rule to change the policy behind the scenes. That rule went into effect over the weekend.
Canada, more so than the U.S., has faced high levels of illegal immigration along its border. Immigrants who have flown into the U.S. travel to the Canadian border and cross at a dirt road called Roxham Road in upstate New York.
The majority of the more than 40,000 immigrants apprehended by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police this past year were encountered at Roxham Road.
The U.S. has seen an increase in illegal immigration from Canada in the New England region since last fall, making the deal beneficial for Border Patrol agents.
Border Patrol agents stationed across the northernmost part of upstate New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire apprehended 367 noncitizens who crossed the northern border in January.
Trudeau has acknowledged the problem, telling CBC in an interview last month, “I can assure you that in my conversations directly with President Biden, I have told him it is a priority for us.”
In parallel to the Canada effort, the Biden administration is also planning a similar deal with Mexico, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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Brandon Budlong, local president of the National Border Patrol Council’s Buffalo region, said during a recent press conference in Washington that fewer agents are on patrol because some have been pulled from the 5,500-mile coastal and land border with Canada to help out. Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security allowed all agents sent south to return to their normal posts on the Canadian border.
In February, Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia asked for additional agents sent up north because the sector was experiencing a rise in arrests. The majority of illegal immigrants apprehended were Mexican citizens.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story reported that the U.S. and Canada reached an agreement to deter immigrants from crossing into the U.S. from Canada. The agreement allows both countries to deter immigrants from crossing the northern border. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
