March 13, 2025
The Honourable Marc Miller
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Via email: [email protected]
Dear Minister Miller,
Open letter re: Canada’s continued enforcement of the Safe Third Country Agreement
I am writing you to express my grave concerns regarding Canada’s continued enforcement of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) with the United States and urge the Canadian government to immediately withdraw from the STCA.
President Donald Trump’s executive actions on his first day back in office made one thing abundantly clear: the US immigration system is being weaponized and arbitrary detention, prolonged incarceration, and systemic violations of human rights are not the exception but the rule.
On his first day in power, Trump effectively shut down the US refugee protection system, leaving hundreds of thousands of people stranded with no clear pathway to asylum. He escalated the use of criminal prosecutions against those crossing irregularly into the US and declared a national emergency
to justify military deployment for immigration enforcement. His administration’s ‘mass deportation’ strategy is designed to not just deter but punish those seeking safety.
His administration has resumed its attack on Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allows migrants from certain countries to legally live and work in the US while conditions in their home country are unsafe. Reuters has reported that President Trump is planning to revoke, possibly within the next month, TPS for approximately 240,000 Ukrainians in the US who have sought refuge from the illegal Russian invasion. In February, the administration announced the revocation of TPS for approximately 300,000 Venezuelans living in the US and another approximately 500,000 Haitians, putting hundreds of thousands of families at risk of deportation.
Moreover, Trump’s executive orders feature racist and transphobic rhetoric and tropes that seek to demonize migrants as criminals and embolden racism, xenophobia and transphobia. By only recognizing two “biological sexes, ” he is putting members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and those who face persecution in grave risk including statelessness.
These policies have led human rights advocates in Canada to call for transgender and non-binary Americans to be exempted from the STCA, highlighting the deteriorating safety of these communities in the US. Canada has a legal and moral obligation under the 1951 Refugee Convention not to returnrefugees to a country where they face persecution or where they are at risk to be deported, in violation of the non-refoulement principle, to violence or death.
The new US administration’s hostility toward migrants should deeply concern Canadians. The STCA, which bars asylum seekers from making refugee claims in Canada if they arrive through the US by land or water, is predicated on the assumption that the US provides comparable protection to asylum
seekers as Canada does. It has never been clearer that this assumption is demonstrably false. Even the government’s own lawyers noted that the STCA heightens the risk of human trafficking and sexual violence for migrant women, girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and argued that urgent exemption for
them in the STCA is needed. Those comments were made prior to the second Trump administration taking office. Back in 2002, the UNHCR recommended that there should be a policy exemption on gender-based claims when Canada drafted regulations for the STCA.
The fallout from Trump’s cruel family separation policy from his first term is still being felt. To this day, an untold number of children remain separated from their families. Yet on his first day back in office, Trump dismantled the task force dedicated to reuniting these children with their parents.
Canadians support a fair refugee protection system. Since its inception, civil society has warned that the STCA violates refugees’ rights and puts them in danger. Its continued enforcement is not only contrary to Canadian values but also a breach of our international obligations. Your government must act
immediately to withdraw from the STCA and ensure that our asylum system upholds its commitment to protecting the most vulnerable.
I appreciate your attention to this urgent matter and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Jenny Kwan
NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East
