Canada Immigration Minister to Announce Changes in Visa Rules for Visitors From Mexico
The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak ahead of the Thursday announcement. The official said the new rules will take effect late Thursday and they won’t mean a complete return to pre-2016 rules. Canada’s immigration minister is expected to announce details.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government lifted the visa requirement for Mexican visitors in late 2016, removing a major irritant in relations between the two countries.
But Canadian Immigration Minister Mac Miller has said asylum claims from Mexico have shot up since Canada lifted the visa restriction in 2016. Canada getting rid of visa free travel from Mexico is also expected to reduce the number of illegal crossings of Mexicans into the U.S. from Canada.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak ahead of the Thursday announcement. The official said the new rules will take effect late Thursday and they won’t mean a complete return to pre-2016 rules. Canada’s immigration minister is expected to announce details.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government lifted the visa requirement for Mexican visitors in late 2016, removing a major irritant in relations between the two countries.
But Canadian Immigration Minister Mac Miller has said asylum claims from Mexico have shot up since Canada lifted the visa restriction in 2016. Canada getting rid of visa free travel from Mexico is also expected to reduce the number of illegal crossings of Mexicans into the U.S. from Canada.
The president said that conservative forces in Mexico had been lobbying in the United States and Canada for actions that would reflect poorly on his administration. He mentioned U.S. complaints about fentanyl production in Mexico and assertions by both the U.S. and Canada that Mexico was not doing its part to control immigration flows.
“The immigration issue, it’s Mexico’s fault,” López Obrador mocked. “‘We’re going to build a wall and that’s how we’ll solve the problem. We’re going to militarize the border and that’s how we’ll solve the problem.’”
“And now Canada is doing the same, they’re wanting to take measures against Mexico; we really regret it,” López Obrador said. “They’re negotiating to reach an agreement, that we can control the migration flows to Canada, as we always have. And we have acted generously toward them, with the administration of Prime Minister Trudeau, but they were already at the point of imposing unilateral measures, right now, when there are elections in Mexico.”
