Solidarity Across Borders was one of the groups that signed the below release.
Migrant Rights Network
Media Release
Migrant Organizations Condemn “Unprincipled and Dangerous” Roxham Road Closure, Call on PM Trudeau to Ensure Safe Access and Equal Rights for Migrants
Ottawa – Migrant Rights Network – Canada’s largest cross-county coalition of migrant-led organizations – is condemning the unprincipled and dangerous decision to close Roxham Road, details of which are yet to be announced. Closing it will only force migrants to take even more dangerous routes because the Safe Third Country Agreement and other immigration laws do not allow migrants more dignified or safer ways of crossing to travel or seek asylum in either country, a right that is protected under international law. We call on Prime Minister Trudeau to end the Safe Third Country Agreement, to ensure migrants can safely cross the US-Canada border, and to ensure equal rights through permanent resident status for all migrants.
United States and Canadian corporate and military interests profit from war, climate catastrophe, and economic precarity in the Global South, and both countries routinely meddle in elections and elected governments abroad, creating crises that cause people to migrate.
Facts about Roxham Road crossing:
- According to the latest numbers reported, 20,891 people crossed into Canada by foot to claim asylum in 2022. This is a comparatively small number:
- 616,429 Ukranians have been approved for travel to Canada since 2022;
- Nearly 1.2 million new work and study permits were approved in Canada in 2022;
- 60,158 total in-country asylum claims were made in Canada in 2022 (including those who crossed by foot from the United States).
- When asylum claimants arrive on foot from the US, they go through normal security screenings and the refugee claim process just like any other claimant. The acceptance rate for asylum seekers crossing on foot is 60%, the same as all other claimants.
Available for comment:
- Quebec (fr/en): Hady Anne, Solidarity Across Borders
- Alberta: Marco Luciano, Migrante Alberta
- British Columbia: Omar Chu, Sanctuary Health
- New Brunswick: Niger Saravia, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
- Nova Scotia: Stacey Gomez, No One Is Illegal – Nova Scotia
- Ontario: Sarom Rho, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
- Prince Edward Island: Ryan MacRae, Cooper Institute
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Migrant Rights Network
info@migrantrights.ca