Canada sees U.S. asylum claim surge as both nations harden borders

A growing number of migrants in the U.S. are heading north to seek asylum, even as Canada adopts increasingly restrictive immigration policies of its own.

During the first six days of July, Canadian officials at the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing – the busiest land port between New York and Quebec – received 761 asylum claims, a more than 400% increase from the same period a year ago, according to data from the Canada Border Services Agency. The number of claims at the crossing rose 128% in June and is up 82% since the start of the year.

The spike comes amid a renewed push by President Donald Trump to tighten immigration enforcement. In recent months, U.S. authorities have stepped up immigration arrests and begun unwinding temporary humanitarian programs that had allowed hundreds of thousands of people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and other nations to live and work in the U.S., in many cases for years.

Haitians and Venezuelans are currently the most common nationalities applying for asylum at Canadian land crossings, according to border agency data. Colombians, Pakistanis and U.S. citizens also rank high.

“All the people who arrive here are afraid of being arrested, whether they have papers or not,” said Marjorie Villefranche, an advocate for the Haitian community in Montreal and former director of Maison d’Haiti, an organization that assists migrants.

With a well-established Haitian community in French-speaking Quebec and growing anxiety among undocumented populations in the U.S., migration experts say a continued – even if modest – increase in Canadian asylum claims is likely.

The jump in claims is especially striking given that the U.S. and Canada have tightened rules around their asylum systems, which had previously led to influxes at the Canadian border, including during Trump’s first term. A 2023 update to the Safe Third Country Agreement between the two nations effectively closed a longstanding loophole, now requiring asylum seekers to apply at official ports of entry where they are more likely to be turned away unless they can prove close family ties in Canada.

More than 2,000 foreign nationals who showed up at a Canadian port of entry and made a claim have already been removed and sent back to the U.S. so far this year. That’s about one for every 10 asylum claimants. The border agency said in a statement that it’s “committed” to increasing the number of removals.

“Once they’re rejected, it’s quite likely they’ll be detained. So it’s a very risky proposition,” said Pia Zambelli, chairwoman of the refugee committee at the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association. “They could end up being in a great deal more danger by approaching the Canadian border and getting turned back than if they had attempted to see if there’s any avenues for them to remain or claim asylum in the U.S.”

Canada’s approach reflects a broader shift in public sentiment. After years of relatively open immigration policies, a surge in newcomers following the pandemic has strained housing, health care and public services, leading the government to introduce tighter limits on student visas, work permits and family reunification. It’s set a target of reducing temporary residents to 5% of the population from about 7.3% over three years.

For migrants living in the U.S., their options for refuge are narrowing. One of Trump’s first acts after taking office in January was effectively shutting down the southern border to asylum seekers. His administration deployed active-duty troops and expanded air and land patrols, and Trump last week approved a massive increase in funding to build out the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The money will also fund the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s aggressive push to arrest those without legal status and put them in a fast-track deportation process, leaving many with few pathways to stay in the country.

Yael Schacher, an immigration historian based in the U.S., said she’s been following the case of a Haitian man who had entered the U.S. through a parole program for four Latin American nations, known as CHNV. His wife and young daughter remain in Haiti with a different sponsor, but with the program now scrapped and travel restrictions for Haitians tightening, their chances of joining him have evaporated.

“He can’t go back to Haiti for political reasons,” Schacher said. “That’s why he’s pursuing Canada so intensely – because he’s separated from his wife and child.”

Canadian border officials say they’re prepared for a potential surge in claimants at the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing, with plans to lease additional space for processing if needed.

“In the event of an influx of refugee claimants requiring additional space, the CBSA puts in place infrastructure contingency plans,” the agency said. “The leased space would be used as a processing center for refugee claimants.”