Can people blocked from the U.S. just come to Canada instead?
Not easily. Refugee and immigration claims are complicated vetting processes in both Canada and the United States, and being approved for one doesn’t automatically clear you for the other. Mr. Hussen, the Immigration Minister, says Canada has no plans to take in additional refugees this year because of the U.S. restrictions. “We have an immigration plan that we intend to stick to,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Then there’s the Safe Third Country Agreement, which requires refugee claimants to ask for protection in the first safe country they arrive in – so, with some exceptions, people turned away from the U.S. can’t come to Canada’s border or airports and ask to seek asylum there. The New Democrats, Canadian civil-rights groups and a coalition of law professors are urging Ottawa to revisit that agreement, but Mr. Hussen says there are no plans to do so.