Politics

Latest stats show illegal border crossings continued to decline in November

A decision by the Trump administration to yank protected status for thousands of Haitians doesn't appear to have prompted a new surge of asylum seekers at the Canada-U.S. border.

The RCMP stopped 1,623 people in November

A group of asylum seekers raise their hands as they approach RCMP officers while crossing the Canadian border Friday, August 4, 2017 in Champlain, N.Y. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

A decision by the Trump administration to yank protected status for thousands of Haitians doesn't appear to have prompted a new surge of asylum seekers at the Canada-U.S. border.

Data published Tuesday by the federal government show the RCMP stopped 1,623 people in November, down from 1,890 in October.

The figures represent a marked drop from August, when the RCMP stopped over 5,000 people in Quebec alone as they crossed into Canada to seek asylum.

Many were believed to be propelled north by an impending change to U.S. immigration policy that would see the resumption of deportations to Haiti, following a pause instituted after the 2010 earthquake.

The U.S. formally announced in November that temporary protected status for Haitians would be lifted in 2019, but Canadian officials had expressed hope a new surge of asylum seekers wouldn't materialize.

Since the summer spike, Canadian officials embarked on a massive outreach effort in the U.S. to dispel myths about the Canadian asylum system and said those efforts were bearing fruit.