What does a tightened US-Canada border mean for asylum seekers?

Roxham Road’s closure marks a shift in immigration policy on the US-Canada border.

Asylum seekers cross into Canada from the U.S. border on Roxham Road in Champlain, New York, U.S., February 25, 2023
Asylum seekers cross into Canada from the United States border on Roxham Road in Champlain, New York, the US on February 25, 2023 [Christinne Muschi/Reuters]

It’s not just the southern United States border that’s changed policy this year – it’s also happening at the border with Canada. For decades, border crossings like Roxham Road near Quebec have allowed migrants to enter Canada from the US to seek asylum. In March, the two countries extended a deal known as the Safe Third Country Agreement, which allows Canada to send asylum seekers back to the US. The deal had previously only applied to official border points. So what will a harder border mean for Canada, and for the people trying to get there?

In this episode: 

  • Naqib Sarwary (@SarwaryNaqib), Philanthropy officer, Amnesty International Canada, and Afghan refugee
  • Alex Neve (@AlexNeve24), Former secretary-general, Amnesty International Canada

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra with Sonia Bhagat and our host, Natasha Del Toro, in for Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Tim St. Clair mixed this episode.

Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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Source: Al Jazeera