Asylum claims at a key Quebec border crossing more than doubled in April, driven in part by mounting fears among migrants over U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns. According to the Canada Border Services Agency, 2,733 asylum claims were made last month at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle port of entry, located south of Montreal. That’s a sharp increase from 1,356 in March and 755 in February.
Compared to April of last year, when just 670 claims were filed at the same crossing, this marks a fourfold surge.
The spike coincides with the Trump administration’s push to revoke temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of migrants living in the U.S., including approximately 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. These policy shifts have prompted a growing number of individuals to seek refuge in Canada.
Despite the uptick at the Quebec border, the overall number of asylum claims across Canada this year has actually declined by half compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the Canada Border Services Agency reports it has ramped up removals of individuals deemed inadmissible to remain in the country.
Under the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States, asylum seekers arriving from the U.S. can only make claims in Canada if they qualify for specific exceptions. So far this year, the agency says it has returned 1,439 claimants to the United States under this agreement.