How — and why — Canada and the U.S. kept their border deal secret for a year

A year ago, major political news was in a courier package sent across the continent.

Its contents remained unknown until last week – when President Joe Biden visited Ottawa and, together with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, announced the updated Safe Third Nations Agreement.

In fact, a deal to change the rules on irregular migration was made a year ago – although the news media, the provincial government and almost all federal politicians were unaware of it.

Here’s what happened.

Almost a year ago today, bureaucrats from both countries finished negotiating an expanded Safe Third Country Agreement in response to Canada’s request.

Officials have reduced travel due to the pandemic. They rely on courier services to deliver agreements between capitals.

The new agreement was signed in Ottawa by Immigration Minister Sean Fraser on March 29, 2022, and in Washington on April 15 by US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Irregular cross-border migration has become a major political issue in both countries – especially in Quebec, home to the irregular crossing on Roxham Road. Trudeau’s Liberals have taken up the issue in Quebec, a province critical to his re-election chances.

However, no one spoke for a year. The existence of the agreement was not enforced even by the provincial government.

“We were kept in the dark,” said one provincial official. Quebec’s immigration minister knows a few minutes before The first news appeared in the media last Friday.

Government officials are keeping the agreement pending an official announcement because they fear it will lead to a stampede at the border.

News of the existence of this year-old agreement was first reported on Friday morning by an eagle-eyed immigration expert in Washington.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick examines the new US federal regulations that will implement the agreement. They tweeted what you find, call it amazing.

“I’m just shocked,” Reichlin-Melnick, director of policy at the American Immigration Council, told CBC News. “Like everyone else, I’ve seen extensive reports that this isn’t over.”

That’s what officials told the media. But what they’re bothered about is that it’s not the deal – that part of it is over.

The new Safe Third Country Agreement allows the two countries to turn back migrants who want to make asylum claims at unofficial entry points such as Roxham Road.

For months after the deal was signed, officials in Canada and the US were unsure how long it would take to implement it.

US officials told their Canadian counterparts last year that this agreement, like any international agreement, would require consultation with several US agencies.

How ‘two years plus’ became one

He told Canadians it would typically take 18 to 36 months — meaning the consultation would be completed between late 2023 and spring 2025.

“I remember they said over two years. Two years plus,” Canadian Ambassador to Washington Kirsten Hillman told CBC News.

Then comes the bargaining in time. Canadians continue to call for faster implementation.

“We had a robust discussion about the timeline,” Hillman said.

Before the United States government can implement an international agreement, it must hear from the affected agencies about the feasibility of the pact and whether it respects existing laws.

It requires an assessment from the US Department of Justice, US Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

To be fair, Americans have their hands full.

Compared to the wave of movement at the southern US border last year – with more than 2 million people entering the United States – the tens of thousands crossing into Canada on Roxham Road are hardly a statistical ripple. And the Office of Management and Budget has been overwhelmed.

“This is not the only rodeo in town,” said one US official.

The official said the US had decided not to cut it. Reichlin-Melnick agreed that due diligence is important if the new regulations are to hold up in court.

“The regulatory process is notoriously slow,” he said. “You have to have all your ducks in a row before you can pull the trigger.”

In the end, Canadians were told it could happen sooner, within 18 months. Then it’s 14 months – this May.

The Biden factor

Meanwhile, Biden is planning an official visit to Canada in March.

Canadians told their U.S. counterparts that this was the No. 1 source of media interest in Biden’s visit — and warned that if Biden leaves a city with irregular migration still unaddressed, the trip will likely.

The president’s visit sent negotiations into overdrive. U.S. officials said a senior administration person — the kind who could normally be reached every few weeks — was suddenly available within hours.

Canadian officials say this underscores a broader point about the value of leaders’ meetings and how they kick-start the machinery of government: “It’s not just speeches and warm feelings.”

“[The Biden visit] it really had an impact,” Hillman said.

A turning point came earlier this month. The US Ambassador to Canada has public visit for a broader approach to the migration of migrants, which is not only focused on Roxham Road.

Fraser agreed. He went to Washington and announced his interest in dealing with root causes driving a historic surge in migration.

He got a call from his US counterpart, Mayorkas. Some in the Canadian government hailed what they called the secretary’s constructive attitude during the talks.

Canada made an offer

Meanwhile, senior officials on the White House’s National Security Council – the public is usually worried about Ukraine and Taiwan – are working with their Canadian counterparts to draft a communique for Biden’s visit to Ottawa.

Mayorkas called Fraser on March 16. One Canadian official said he asked what Canada could do to help ease pressure on America’s southern border.

Canada offers to take 15,000 more migrants through legal channels.

Things suddenly started moving quickly. One US official said that, a few days before the visit, people began to think it might happen while Biden was in Canada.

“We knew a few weeks ago that we were in the ballpark,” the US official said. “The dominoes keep falling in the right direction.”

Just days before Biden’s visit, parties began to believe that an announcement could happen while the president was in Ottawa.

But they are not sure. One Canadian citizen is awaiting the release of US federal regulations on Thursday that will be published tomorrow.

Others said they were only relieved when it became clear that US officials were talking about the deal publicly – the details of which are beginning to emerge. in the US media.

“It’s not over,” said one Canadian official. “I thought there was a very real possibility [the visit] can come and go and there is no deal.”

Hillman said he began to be convinced last Wednesday, the day before Biden’s arrival. He cited the episode as an example of what can happen when two leaders respect each other and work in faith.

The deal is done. A US interagency evaluation has been completed. Now comes the general assessment. We’ll see what happens this effect on migrationand what crosses the border keeps finding new and more dangerous paths.

Reichlin-Melnick is said to be the latest example of border hardening in response to historical waves of human movement.

He said his preferred policy would be a more efficient and faster US process for asylum adjudication.

As it stands, he said, it takes at least six months for asylum claimants to get work authorization in the US. Cases that drag on for years and they are desperate.

“People are looking for money, there are no resources, there are no options,” he said.

Some started looking for Canada. Now, he said, he fears more of these people will be driven underground.