Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that refugee claims by Mexican nationals have plummeted 97% since the government reintroduced a visa requirement for travelers from Mexico in 2024.
The decision followed a surge in fraudulent asylum applications, Miller told reporters.
“Responding to a clear increase of fraud in the asylum system as seen in the increasing number of rejected, withdrawn, or abandoned applications, we put in place a visa requirement for Mexican nationals,” Miller said.
“Since that time, asylum claims from Mexican citizens at our airports have decreased by 97% compared to 2023.”
Blacklock's Reporter says the Department of Immigration also reported a significant reduction in illegal border crossings by Mexican nationals traveling from Canada into the U.S., which dropped 72% in the same period.
The visa requirement was initially lifted in 2016 after pressure from Mexico, which called the rule “demeaning.”
Then-Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Jesus Reyes-Heroles criticized the requirement, claiming it stemmed from “alleged abuse by Mexicans who embraced Canadian asylum.”
However, after the visa rule was removed, refugee claims from Mexico surged dramatically, increasing from just 120 annually to 23,995 in 2023, according to government data.
Claims of persecution from Mexican nationals outpaced those from China, India, Pakistan, and Russia combined.
In a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement released last year, the Immigration Department noted that reinstating the visa rule saved Canadian taxpayers $660 million annually by reducing costs associated with processing and removing failed asylum claimants.
“Record levels of asylum intake have been received from Mexican nationals,” the statement said.
“Most Mexican claims are made at airports on arrival, an indication that claiming asylum, not visiting, was the true purpose of travel. The majority of Mexican claims are abandoned, withdrawn, or rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board.”
Miller defended the timing of the visa reintroduction, which took effect February 29, 2024. When asked if the measure should have been implemented sooner, Miller replied, “We’ve been examining these measures for months.”
The government cited the unsustainability of processing thousands of asylum claims as a key reason for reinstating the visa rule. “Measures had to be taken,” Miller stated.