A major border crossing south of Montreal has seen a steady increase in the flow of asylum seekers. There is concern that the White House administration's policies could force another huge influx of migrants to Canada.
Hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers in the U.S. will soon lose their protected status. Already, the numbers heading north have been increasing, especially at the St. Bernard de Lacolle crossing. 560 in January, 755 in February, and more than 1,350 in March, and just in the first week of April – 550.
Paul St. Pierre Plamondon of the Parti Québécois and other officials fear numbers will continue to rise.
“I think we’re underestimating the situation by a lot because it’s just getting started. So, the pressure will be extremely strong. The data that you’re seeing this morning is just the tip of the iceberg,” Plamondon said.
Quebec’s immigration minister, Jean-François Roberge, has voiced the same concerns the province had when thousands of people crossed at the unattended Roxham Road before its closure in 2023.
“Our capacity to receive more and more people is overwhelmed. We can’t take more than we have right now,” Roberge said.
Roberge blamed the influx solely on President Donald Trump. For 532-thousand people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, their status is set to be revoked by the Trump administration on April 24th.
