Homeland Security takes steps to tighten asylum rules at Canadian border

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says people seeking asylum at the border with Canada will have less time to consult a lawyer before making their case, as U.S. President Joe Biden's asylum halt makes its way to Canada’s doorstep.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says people seeking asylum at the border with Canada will have less time to consult a lawyer before making their case, as U.S. President Joe Biden's asylum halt makes its way to Canada’s doorstep. 

Biden announced sweeping changes mostly targeted at the U.S. border with Mexico in June, as the issue remains a thorn in the Democrats' side ahead of the November election. The new procedural changes, which the department confirmed Tuesday, will affect migrants crossing into the U.S. from Canada.

The number of migrants crossing between Canada and the United States is much smaller than at the U.S.-Mexico border, but recent increases have caught the attention of Republicans.

The Department of Homeland Security said it reviewed the Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada and concluded that it could streamline the process without affecting access to fair procedures for determining a claim to asylum. 

Under the agreement, which came into effect in 2004, refugees must seek asylum in the first of the two countries they land in. 

The procedural change means people entering the U.S. from Canada will now have four hours to consult with lawyers. It is a significant drop from the previous 24-hour time frame, said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

“This makes it incredibly difficult when you think about how legal service providers work,” she said.