OTTAWA — Two Liberal MPs are headed back to the U.S. in an effort to fend off a new surge of asylum seekers at the Canada-U.S. border following the latest shift in U.S. immigration policy.
READ MORE: Canada readies for potential refugee influx as U.S. ends protection status for Nicaragua
The Trump administration this week placed about 5,000 Nicaraguans on notice that their temporary status in the U.S. will be revoked in the next year, while nearly 58,000 Hondurans have been given an extension of just six months.
READ MORE: Canada giving refugee status to border-crossers at rising rates
And fear among thousands of Haitians in the U.S. that their temporary protected status will also be removed has been cited as a factor behind the hundreds of people a day who crossed illegally into Canada this summer.
WATCH: How is the Canadian government dealing with all of the asylum seekers?
Liberal MPs Pablo Rodriguez and Emmanuel Dubourg are now being sent back to the U.S. to reach out to the Hispanic and Haitian communities to make it clear those who wish asylum in Canada should seek it through legal means.
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Both MPs travelled to diaspora communities earlier this year, and their efforts are believed to have helped to slow the pace of new arrivals at the border.
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Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says that while there’s no sign yet of a new influx, the government wants to be proactive.
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