Mexican Asylum Claims Skyrocket Since the Trudeau Government Eliminated Visa for Mexican Nationals

01/23/2019

In July 2016, the Trudeau government removed the visitor visa for Mexicans travelling to Canada - a visa imposed by the Harper government back in 2009 to end a surge of Mexicans claiming refugee status - despite the fact that the visa significantly reduced the number of asylum claims.

2,445 Mexican visitors to Canada failed to leave and instead applied for refugee status in Canada during the first ten months of 2018, according to new data from Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The number of Mexican asylum claimants to Canada in on track to rise almost 75% above the previous year's total, or an 840% increase from 2016's total.