CIMM – Mexico: Border Crossings/Asylum Claims – November 25, 2024

Key Facts and Figures

• Supplementary Estimates (B) includes $18,423,004 in funding for the Mexico partial visa imposition (as committed in Budget 2024). Funding ensures a high level of client service for Mexican clients while preserving the level of client service globally. Specifically, these funds support the hiring and training of processing officers to work on the new Mexican visa caseload, estimated to be upwards of 130,000 applications per year, and the opening of new Visa Application Centers in Mexico.
• In 2023, Mexican asylum claims reached a record high, at a time when Canada’s asylum system, housing and social services were already under significant pressure.
• As a result, on February 29, 2024, Canada partially reimposed the visa requirement for Mexican citizens. This visa change was due to a significant and growing trend of asylum claims made by Mexican citizens, the majority of which were refused by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, or withdrawn or abandoned by the applicant.
• This decision supports ongoing mobility, tourism and business with Mexico, and has relieved pressure on Canada’s borders, immigration system, housing and social services.
• The partial visa requirement immediately accomplished what it was intended to do – stopping asylum claims at airports, mainly Montreal and Toronto, and largely halting the irregular southbound crossings of Mexican nationals to the U.S.
  • From March 1 to September 30, 2024, asylum claims by Mexican nationals at airports dropped from over 9,000 to 225 compared to the same period last year.
  • The number of Mexican nationals irregularly entering the U.S. from Canada has also dramatically declined, down from over 4,000 to approximately 1,200 compared to the same period last year.

Key Messages

• Canada and Mexico have been close friends as well as trusted business and trade partners for many decades. Mexican workers represent a key workforce that helps Canadians, and Mexican students and visitors help boost our economy and enrich our culture. The visa change for Mexico that was implemented in February of this year continues to be about balance – preserving mobility for Mexican nationals, and managing our asylum program.
• In 2023, asylum claims from Mexican citizens accounted for 17% of all claims made that year. The country’s asylum claim rate rose significantly since the visa was first lifted in 2016 (from 260 claims in 2016 to 23,995 claims in 2023).
• The partial visa requirement immediately accomplished what it was intended to do – stopping airport asylum claims and limiting the number of Mexican nationals crossing irregularly southbound from Canada into the United States.
  • From March 1 – September 30, 2024, total asylum claims from Mexican nationals have decreased by 70% compared to the same time frame in 2023.
  • The number of asylum claims made by Mexican nationals at Canadian airports decreased by over 97% compared to 2023.
  • In the same period, southbound irregular migration by Mexican nationals from Canada was also down by 72% compared to 2023. 
• The integrity of our immigration system remains a top priority for Canada. Canada’s visa policy decisions are made in an effort to support travel and people-to-people connections, while maintaining safe and orderly migration.

Supplementary Information

If pressed on: How has the visa reimposition and Levels Plan impacted Mexican workers?

Visa reimposition

• Mexican workers are our top source of temporary labour under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). On an exceptional basis, when we reimposed the visa on February 29, we protected the validity of all electronic travel authorizations (eTAs) issued to valid Mexican work and study permit holders. They can keep flying to/from Canada and keep working/studying in Canada until their eTA expires.
• Mexicans must now apply for their work permit from outside of Canada – not at the port of entry – as was already the case for many workers. When we approve work permits, we now ask clients to send us their passport so that we can rapidly place a visa in it and return it.
• Canada has already expanded its network of visa application centres in Mexico to better serve clients. Canada is working closely with the Government of Mexico, and with employers to minimize disruptions, and we are well positioned to serve these clients quickly.

Levels Plan

• The introduction of temporary resident targets under the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan will not impact Mexican seasonal workers, such as those under the TFWP’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. The temporary resident targets capture only the number of new workers and students entering Canada each year and who are expected to stay past the end of the year.