Immigrant Groups Urge Canada to Pause Safe Third Country Agreement
Over 130 immigrant-serving organizations are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to pause the Safe Third Country Agreement as Canada's Federal Court reviews its legality.
More than 130 U.S.-based immigrant-serving organizations and experts issued a joint statement declaring that the United States is no longer safe for asylum seekers. The group is urging Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, to pause the Safe Third Country Agreement, a policy that allows Canadian authorities to turn away asylum seekers at the border without hearing their cases under the premise that the U.S. is a safe destination.
Advocates support their demand by citing a U.S. asylum grant rate that has fallen below 6 percent, as well as reports of brutality within United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers. They specifically highlighted the case of a Haitian family that was turned back by Canada and deported to Haiti on August 27, despite one child holding U.S. citizenship.
This pressure coincides with proceedings in the Federal Court of Canada, which is currently hearing arguments regarding the legality of the agreement. The court is examining whether the policy violates the guarantee of equal rights established in the Canadian Charter.
