Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told officials this week that an ongoing illegal immigration woes are attributable to “months” of unfruitful negotiations with the Trump administration.
Mr. Trudeau and his political allies were questioned on Tuesday regarding the repercussions of lax immigration laws, but they now say that culpability rests with President Trump and U.S. lawmakers.
At issue is the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), which requires asylum seekers at official U.S.-Canada border crossings to apply for refuge in the country they entered first. A new trend involves illegal immigrants — often Nigerian tourists with visitor visas — surreptitiously entering Canada via the vast norther border.
Mr. Trudeau said talks with the Trump administration have been going on “for months” on “many issues relating to our border,” Reuters reported Tuesday evening.
Over 26,000 illegal immigrants have crossed into Canada from the U.S. in the past 15 months.
A Canadian official told Reuters that the White House has been uncooperative.
“Trudeau is the one who put out the welcome mat for the entire planet so it should be up to him to figure out how to deal with them,” responded Jazz Shaw of the conservative website Hot Air.
“Perhaps Canada should build a wall?” a reader joked.
Some of the illegal immigrants arriving in Canada claim they exited the U.S. as a result of Mr. Trump’s immigration policies and rhetoric, Reuters reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.