Latest news with #SafeThirdCountryAgreement
Montreal Gazette
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
‘Complicit with a totalitarian regime': Canada's border rules are landing asylum seekers in ICE detention
News By Canadian authorities have returned more than 1,600 asylum seekers to the United States in 2025 without hearing their case for refugee protection, according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Many have landed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The removals are a product of the longstanding Safe Third Country Agreement, which requires anyone seeking refugee protection in Canada or the U.S. to claim asylum in the first of the two countries they reach. This means many asylum seekers who attempt to enter Canada through the U.S. are turned back at the border. The agreement is based on the assumption both the U.S. and Canada have sufficiently robust refugee protection systems. But with the U.S. asylum system now suspended and amid reports of refugee claimants facing deportation without so much as an interview, Canadian advocates say the U.S. is no longer safe for those fleeing persecution. Canadian authorities must stop the removals, they say, and allow refugee claimants to plead their cases on this side of the border. CBSA data shared with The Gazette show authorities sent a total of 1,624 asylum seekers back to the U.S. between Jan. 1 and June 2, 2025. Though the deportation data isn't broken down by location, just over 40 per cent of all asylum seekers in 2025 — deported or not — made their claims at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing, south of Montreal, CBSA data shows. Unless they have legal status in the U.S., all asylum seekers returned from Canada are transferred into ICE custody, a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson confirmed in an emailed statement. Canadian authorities 'are complicit with an increasingly totalitarian regime,' said Wendy Ayotte, a member of Bridges Not Borders, a grassroots organization of people living near the now shuttered Roxham Road crossing. Ayotte called Canadian authorities 'cruel' for sending asylum seekers into the hands of the same immigration authorities who deported more than 100 Venezuelan men to a high-security El Salvador prison and reportedly removed U.S. citizens from their own country. Her organization maintains a web page with information for asylum seekers planning to cross into Canada, which Ayotte said sees a steady flow of web traffic. 'A lot of people are totally ignorant' of the Safe Third Country Agreement, Ayotte said, including of how to assert exemptions that allow certain groups of people to claim asylum when crossing from the U.S. One exemption is for those with family members in Canada. But some asylum seekers with legitimate connections are struggling to prove it, according to Jenn McIntyre, coordinator of the Canada-U.S. Border Rights Clinic, which provides legal assistance to migrants seeking protection in Canada. 'We do see people who approach the border and should be found eligible under the Safe Third Country Agreement because they have family members in Canada, but they don't necessarily have all of the information' needed to assert their eligibility, she said. 'They don't always have all the correct documentation on hand. 'And so we do see people turned back from the border even though they have families in Canada. The consequences of getting turned back are very severe.' Most people are being detained upon return to the U.S., she said, which could eventually see them deported to the very country they fled. 'When a person makes a claim for refugee protection at a port of entry, a CBSA border service officer will determine if, on a balance of probabilities, evidence shows that the refugee claimant is subject to the Safe Third Country Agreement,' CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said in an email. The onus to prove the right to seek protection is on the asylum seeker, Purdy said. But that isn't always easy for someone fleeing persecution, according to Ayotte. 'Imagine someone without any prior preparation or knowledge presenting themselves at the border and, all of a sudden, they're going through an interview. But they don't understand the purpose of the interview,' she said. Some of those seeking asylum at the border are Haitian, said Abdulla Daoud, executive director of the Refugee Centre in Montreal. In February, U.S. President Donald Trump removed deportation protections for Haitians facing continuing gang violence that has seen more than a million people in the country become homeless. Many Haitians have family in Canada, Daoud said, making them eligible to claim asylum. Daoud said he, too, had heard of people turned away despite a family connection. Others are truly ineligible, he said, but have come to the border without understanding the rules. 'They are typically the most vulnerable of the vulnerable,' he said. By turning them away, Canadian officials 'are doing ICE's job for them.' Most people claiming asylum in Canada have a legitimate fear of persecution or even death, Daoud said. In 2024, nearly 80 per cent of asylum seekers who made their case to an immigration judge were granted refugee status (excluding claims that were withdrawn or abandoned). Daoud said this proves most claims are legitimate. If eight out of 10 asylum seekers have a legitimate claim and those returned to the U.S. are facing increasing odds of deportation 'what is the statistical probability that we're sending people to their death?' The contested agreement has been challenged in the courts. In 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld it, but sent a question over its constitutionality back to a lower court. Though especially concerning now, the Safe Third Country Agreement, first signed in 2002, has never been acceptable, said Adam Sadinsky, advocacy co-chair at the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, which is participating in the continuing legal challenge. 'The way that refugees and asylum seekers are treated in the United States has always been problematic,' Sadinsky said. But he said the system has only become worse under Trump. 'What's clear in the United States now is that the asylum process is not being respected,' Sadinsky said. In an emailed statement, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson Julie Lafortune said the U.S. 'continues to meet the criteria ... to be a designated safe third country.' She said Ottawa continues to monitor developments in the U.S. to 'ensure that the conditions that led to the designation as a safe third country continue to be met.' Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab's office declined The Gazette's request for an interview. The Liberal government has since tabled Bill C-2, which, among other measures, would further restrict migrants' ability to claim asylum.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. Salvadoran family's tough journey to Canada: 'We didn't want to be deported'
Aracely Serrano Ayala said she felt her world was ending several times in the last three months. After living and working in the U.S. for more than a decade, the 35-year-old resident of Plainfield, New Jersey, and her partner, Marcos Guardado, began to live in fear because they were undocumented immigrants. The Salvadoran couple never started the process of seeking a green card. As the Trump administration increased its deportation efforts, in March they decided to embark on a journey to Canada with their two daughters and apply for asylum there, where Serrano's brother is a citizen. 'We wanted a better future, to legalize our status and continue working," said Serrano, "but the United States gave us no hope." Serrano said nothing prepared her and her family for being turned away twice at the Canadian border, detained by U.S. immigration authorities and separated from her husband for several weeks, after he was transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. Serrano and her family are now living legally in Canada, but their story illustrates the complexities of the immigration and the asylum process, both in the U.S. and Canada. 'We just wanted to get out of the country and never imagined we would go through all this,' she says, her voice breaking. Under the 2015 Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between Canada and the United States, asylum-seekers must seek protection in the first safe country they arrive in. That is, if someone enters the U.S. first and meets the requirements, they must begin their asylum application there and cannot do so in Canada, and vice versa. However, there are exceptions in the agreement. If a person enters Canadian territory from the U.S. and can prove they have a close relative in the country who meets certain requirements (being of legal age, having Canadian citizenship or being a permanent resident, among other conditions), the person can enter the country and is allowed to begin their asylum application. 'I was hopeful because I know this agreement exists — and my brother had been there for 20 years,' Serrano said. But when the family got to the Canadian border, issues with documentation and even a misunderstanding over how last names are used in Latin America prevented them from being allowed into Canada and led to their detention in the U.S., illustrating the difficulties around migration and entry into another country. Serrano said that when she and he family crossed the Rainbow Bridge into Canada, "our dream of entering the country had collapsed," as Canadian border officials flagged several issues with their Salvadoran documents. One of the birth certificates had a mistake regarding Serrano's mother's name, Serrano's Canadian attorney, Heather Neufeld, said. Though there was a correction note in the margins, the border officials didn't pay attention to that and thought there was a discrepancy in their names, so they didn't accept it,' Neufeld said in an interview. The attorney added that another aspect complicating the process was that on one document, Serrano's father appeared with only one of his surnames, while on other documents, he had both. 'The [Canadian] officers didn't understand that in Latin America, people have two last names, but sometimes only one appears on the documents. So they thought they were fake. It was a series of errors made by border officials, when in fact, they were legitimate documents,' Neufeld said. Telemundo Noticias requested comment from the Canada Border Security Agency on the Serrano and Guardado case. Although authorities declined to comment on the Salvadoran family's case out of respect for their privacy, Luke Reimer, a spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement that port-of-entry officials are the ones who determine whether the evidence demonstrates that the asylum-seeker is subject to the Canada-United States Agreement. After the couple was declared inadmissible, Canadian authorities deported them back to the U.S., where they were detained at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility. 'They checked our documents there at U.S. immigration and then took us to a cell. It was a place with no windows or bathroom. When we wanted to go to the bathroom, we had to tell them to take us,' said Serrano. She said they were held there for two weeks. At the end of March, Serrano said, without warning, U.S. immigration agents sent them back to the Rainbow Bridge port of entry, but because they had the same papers, they were deported again to the U.S. Serrano, Guardado and Neufeld said that neither U.S. nor Canadian authorities have explained who made the decision to take them back to the Canadian port of entry. This is important because generally people only have one opportunity to resubmit their case to authorities. Noticias Telemundo contacted the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CBP for comment on the case, but didn't receive a response. After the second deportation, Serrano and her daughters were separated from Guardado, who was transferred to an ICE detention center. Guardado said he'd never been imprisoned in his life; "it was the first time that happened to me, and I was there for a month and a few days,' he said, adding that he only had a few minutes to say goodbye to his daughters. However, things began to change. While Guardado was in detention, U.S. authorities placed Serrano in an electronic bracelet and released her along with her daughters. They spent a few days in a shelter in Buffalo, New York, and their case began to attract attention in the Canadian media. Neufeld then filed an official appeal with Canadian authorities. 'We submitted all the evidence with our arguments, but they sent us a one-sentence letter stating that they weren't going to change their initial decision, so the only option left was a petition in federal court,' Neufeld said. On May 5, the Canadian government agreed to allow Serrano and her two daughters to enter the country to begin the asylum application process. Meanwhile, Guardado remained detained in the U.S. and had to post a $12,000 bond to attend the interview with Canadian authorities to be able to reunite with his family. They turned to their family and close friends, all from the same Salvadoran town as Serrano and Guardado. "They all raised the bail to get me out; some put up $50, others $500," Guardado said. "Little by little, it all came together. I have a list of more than 500 people who helped me." Guardado recalled the day they told him he was entering Canada. 'I was able to be with them and hug my crying girls,' Guardado said. Serrano said the biggest difference she's experienced living in Canada is a sense of security and freedom that comforts her. 'We're no longer afraid. Imagine having that freedom with my girls, to go anywhere, without the fear that they'll find us and deport us without us committing any crime,' she said. But while the family begins a new life in Canada, bad news continue to cloud their horizon. Guardado's brother, Jaime — who's married to a naturalized U.S. citizen from El Salvador and was planning to go back to El Salvador as part of his green card process — was detained in New Jersey and continues to be in ICE custody. An earlier version of this story was first published in Noticias Telemundo. This article was originally published on
NBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
U.S. Salvadoran family's tough journey to Canada: 'We didn't want to be deported'
Aracely Serrano Ayala said she felt her world was ending several times in the last three months. After living and working in the U.S. for more than a decade, the 35-year-old resident of Plainfield, New Jersey, and her partner, Marcos Guardado, began to live in fear because they were undocumented immigrants. The Salvadoran couple never started the process of seeking a green card. As the Trump administration increased its deportation efforts, in March they decided to embark on a journey to Canada with their two daughters and apply for asylum there, where Serrano's brother is a citizen. 'We wanted a better future, to legalize our status and continue working," said Serrano, "but the United States gave us no hope." Serrano said nothing prepared her and her family for being turned away twice at the Canadian border, detained by U.S. immigration authorities and separated from her husband for several weeks, after he was transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. Serrano and her family are now living legally in Canada, but their story illustrates the complexities of the immigration and the asylum process, both in the U.S. and Canada. 'We just wanted to get out of the country and never imagined we would go through all this,' she says, her voice breaking. An opportunity in Canada - and unexpected setbacks Under the 2015 Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between Canada and the United States, asylum-seekers must seek protection in the first safe country they arrive in. That is, if someone enters the U.S. first and meets the requirements, they must begin their asylum application there and cannot do so in Canada, and vice versa. However, there are exceptions in the agreement. If a person enters Canadian territory from the U.S. and can prove they have a close relative in the country who meets certain requirements (being of legal age, having Canadian citizenship or being a permanent resident, among other conditions), the person can enter the country and is allowed to begin their asylum application. 'I was hopeful because I know this agreement exists — and my brother had been there for 20 years,' Serrano said. But when the family got to the Canadian border, issues with documentation and even a misunderstanding over how last names are used in Latin America prevented them from being allowed into Canada and led to their detention in the U.S., illustrating the difficulties around migration and entry into another country. Serrano said that when she and he family crossed the Rainbow Bridge into Canada, "our dream of entering the country had collapsed," as Canadian border officials flagged several issues with their Salvadoran documents. One of the birth certificates had a mistake regarding Serrano's mother's name, Serrano's Canadian attorney, Heather Neufeld, said. Though there was a correction note in the margins, the border officials didn't pay attention to that and thought there was a discrepancy in their names, so they didn't accept it,' Neufeld said in an interview. The attorney added that another aspect complicating the process was that on one document, Serrano's father appeared with only one of his surnames, while on other documents, he had both. 'The [Canadian] officers didn't understand that in Latin America, people have two last names, but sometimes only one appears on the documents. So they thought they were fake. It was a series of errors made by border officials, when in fact, they were legitimate documents,' Neufeld said. Telemundo Noticias requested comment from the Canada Border Security Agency on the Serrano and Guardado case. Although authorities declined to comment on the Salvadoran family's case out of respect for their privacy, Luke Reimer, a spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement that port-of-entry officials are the ones who determine whether the evidence demonstrates that the asylum-seeker is subject to the Canada-United States Agreement. After the couple was declared inadmissible, Canadian authorities deported them back to the U.S., where they were detained at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility. 'They checked our documents there at U.S. immigration and then took us to a cell. It was a place with no windows or bathroom. When we wanted to go to the bathroom, we had to tell them to take us,' said Serrano. She said they were held there for two weeks. At the end of March, Serrano said, without warning, U.S. immigration agents sent them back to the Rainbow Bridge port of entry, but because they had the same papers, they were deported again to the U.S. Serrano, Guardado and Neufeld said that neither U.S. nor Canadian authorities have explained who made the decision to take them back to the Canadian port of entry. This is important because generally people only have one opportunity to resubmit their case to authorities. Noticias Telemundo contacted the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CBP for comment on the case, but didn't receive a response. After the second deportation, Serrano and her daughters were separated from Guardado, who was transferred to an ICE detention center. Guardado said he'd never been imprisoned in his life; "it was the first time that happened to me, and I was there for a month and a few days,' he said, adding that he only had a few minutes to say goodbye to his daughters. However, things began to change. While Guardado was in detention, U.S. authorities placed Serrano in an electronic bracelet and released her along with her daughters. They spent a few days in a shelter in Buffalo, New York, and their case began to attract attention in the Canadian media. Neufeld then filed an official appeal with Canadian authorities. 'We submitted all the evidence with our arguments, but they sent us a one-sentence letter stating that they weren't going to change their initial decision, so the only option left was a petition in federal court,' Neufeld said. On May 5, the Canadian government agreed to allow Serrano and her two daughters to enter the country to begin the asylum application process. Meanwhile, Guardado remained detained in the U.S. and had to post a $12,000 bond to attend the interview with Canadian authorities to be able to reunite with his family. They turned to their family and close friends, all from the same Salvadoran town as Serrano and Guardado. "They all raised the bail to get me out; some put up $50, others $500," Guardado said. "Little by little, it all came together. I have a list of more than 500 people who helped me." Guardado recalled the day they told him he was entering Canada. 'I was able to be with them and hug my crying girls,' Guardado said. Serrano said the biggest difference she's experienced living in Canada is a sense of security and freedom that comforts her. 'We're no longer afraid. Imagine having that freedom with my girls, to go anywhere, without the fear that they'll find us and deport us without us committing any crime,' she said. But while the family begins a new life in Canada, bad news continue to cloud their horizon. Guardado's brother, Jaime — who's married to a naturalized U.S. citizen from El Salvador and was planning to go back to El Salvador as part of his green card process — was detained in New Jersey and continues to be in ICE custody.
The Province
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Province
U.S. crackdown on illegal immigrants is sending a surge of refugees to Canada
Between January to April, the number of asylum seekers to Canada shot up by 87 per cent, many of whom face long odds to get in An asylum seeker arrives at the Roxham Road border crossing in March, 2023. Canada has seen a surge of refugees with the U.S. crackdown on illegal immigrants. As fears of refugee deportation mount in the United States, a surge of asylum seekers is turning to Canada — only to find a border that is getting increasingly hard to cross. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The number of refugee seekers processed by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) has shot up by 87 per cent between January and April. In April, 494 ineligible refugee claimants from the U.S. were turned back at the Canadian border under the Safe Third Country Agreement, which bars most people from seeking asylum in Canada at the border. That's up from 280 in January — a 76 per cent increase. Growing refugee traffic at the Canadian border this year has emerged amid a looming clampdown on illegal immigration in the U.S. that experts say could trigger a flood of asylum seekers to Canada. A controversial U.S. move in late March that paused protected legal status for refugees from Colombia, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV) is likely behind the spike, say immigration lawyers and researchers. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'That is what we would see as a major indicator towards potential migration flows northbound,' said Dan Anson, director general of intelligence and investigations for the CBSA. 'Those… main groups… are likely going to be targets of potential enforcement and removal operations (in the U.S.)' Toronto immigration lawyer Mario Bellissimo said his office has seen around a 200-per-cent jump in inquiries in the past week. 'Any time you have a dramatic announcement, it does prompt individuals to move,' he said. On Tuesday, the federal government responded to 'rising migration' concerns with new measures it says will make the country's immigration and asylum systems 'more responsive to new and developing pressures.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Among those steps will be new ineligibility rules to 'protect the asylum system against sudden increases.' The CHNV parole program in the U.S. initially offered 'parole' to certain Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to stay in the U.S. for two years. The Trump administration paused those protections on March 25, 2025. The following month, asylum claims processed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) rose to 4,560, up from 2,940. A federal judge blocked Trump's order in April. CBSA data released to the Investigative Journalism Bureau on Tuesday shows a drop in refugee removals at the border in May following that court order. But the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the ruling on May 30, triggering renewed fears of deportation for migrants in legal limbo. An estimated 532,000 refugees from the four countries are now vulnerable to removal from the U.S while the back-and-forth court battle continues. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Rosanna Berardi, an immigration lawyer in Buffalo, N.Y., called the shifting legal restrictions in the U.S. for refugees an 'emotional rollercoaster.' 'A lot of individuals will have to leave quickly and go elsewhere,' she said. 'Canada would be the easiest place to go with respect to logistics.' At some point, there's going to be people so desperate that it doesn't matter what kind of laws we have Lori Wilkinson, professor at University of Manitoba But those who do attempt to flee the U.S. clampdown by coming to Canada may face long odds of getting in. Under the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, refugees must claim asylum in the first country they land in. Refugees coming from the U.S. cannot claim asylum in Canada unless they have close family in the country. 'They can attempt to come into Canada, but chances are they're gonna be returned to the U.S. And with that, they'll probably be held at the border,' said Evan Green, an immigration lawyer in Toronto. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But many refugees either don't know about those restrictions or are too afraid to care, said Lori Wilkinson, a professor at the University of Manitoba specializing in refugee resettlement. 'At some point, there's going to be people so desperate that it doesn't matter what kind of laws we have,' she said. 'With Nicaragua, I think people don't understand there's been a many years-long drought and you either starve and die, or you pick up everything and walk through the Darien Gap and take your chances.' Kate Swanson, an immigration expert and international development professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said Haitians in the U.S. are heavily incentivized to come north given the long-standing humanitarian crisis and armed gang violence at home. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Many of these individuals will look north for safety rather than face deportation back to the very conditions they fled,' she said. 'Clearly, the urgent humanitarian crisis persists, and I imagine that many of these individuals, especially those with family in Canada, will try to find safety here.' An economic crisis in Cuba has been worsened by natural disasters and blackouts that have at times left millions without power. In Venezuela, political repression and economic collapse have led to a refugee crisis. The Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB) at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health is a collaborative investigative newsroom supported by Postmedia that partners with academics, researchers and journalists while training the next generation of investigative reporters. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here.
Ottawa Citizen
4 days ago
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
U.S. crackdown on illegal immigrants is sending a surge of refugees to Canada
As fears of refugee deportation mount in the United States, a surge of asylum seekers is turning to Canada — only to find a border that is getting increasingly hard to cross. Article content The number of refugee seekers processed by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) has shot up by 87 per cent between January and April. Article content Article content In April, 494 ineligible refugee claimants from the U.S. were turned back at the Canadian border under the Safe Third Country Agreement, which bars most people from seeking asylum in Canada at the border. That's up from 280 in January — a 76 per cent increase. Article content Article content Growing refugee traffic at the Canadian border this year has emerged amid a looming clampdown on illegal immigration in the U.S. that experts say could trigger a flood of asylum seekers to Canada. Article content Article content A controversial U.S. move in late March that paused protected legal status for refugees from Colombia, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV) is likely behind the spike, say immigration lawyers and researchers. Article content 'That is what we would see as a major indicator towards potential migration flows northbound,' said Dan Anson, director general of intelligence and investigations for the CBSA. 'Those… main groups… are likely going to be targets of potential enforcement and removal operations (in the U.S.)' Article content Toronto immigration lawyer Mario Bellissimo said his office has seen around a 200-per-cent jump in inquiries in the past week. Article content 'Any time you have a dramatic announcement, it does prompt individuals to move,' he said. Article content Article content On Tuesday, the federal government responded to 'rising migration' concerns with new measures it says will make the country's immigration and asylum systems 'more responsive to new and developing pressures.' Article content Among those steps will be new ineligibility rules to 'protect the asylum system against sudden increases.' Article content The CHNV parole program in the U.S. initially offered 'parole' to certain Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to stay in the U.S. for two years. The Trump administration paused those protections on March 25, 2025. Article content The following month, asylum claims processed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) rose to 4,560, up from 2,940.
