US and Canada reached agreement to turn away asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings

The US and Canada have reached an agreement to turn away asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings. US President Joe Biden and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau are expected to announce the deal today. The accord is expected to allow officials on both sides of the border to turn back such asylum seekers heading in either direction. The move is part of efforts to limit an influx of migrants at Roxham Road, an unofficial crossing between New York state and the province of Quebec. The deal is an amendment to the 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement between the two sides, which requires migrants to make an asylum claim in the first “safe” country they reach, whether it is the US or Canada. The new arrangement would close a loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement that prevented Canada from turning away those crossing the border at unofficial crossing points.