The Safe Third Country Agreement in the Trump Era

In the wake of President Trump's Executive Orders on immigration last month, there has been much talk in Canada of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA).

The STCA is an agreement between Canada and the United States regarding how refugee claimants are handled along our shared land border. The agreement came into effect in 2004 and requires that refugees must seek protection in the first country they arrive between Canada or the U.S., unless they qualify for an exception. Therefore, a refugee who first arrives in the U.S. must submit a claim for protection in the U.S. and cannot appear at a Canadian border to make a claim here. The reverse is also true for those who first arrive in Canada.