Mexico visa-free travel a ‘bilateral irritant’ for Canada-U.S. relations

The Liberal government’s decision to lift the visa requirement for Mexican nationals became a “bilateral irritant” with the Biden administration, as the number of migrants on both sides of the border spiked, newly released documents show.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller reinstated visas for Mexican citizens on Feb. 29, 2024 to slow what he called “exponential growth” in asylum claims straining Canada’s refugee system and provinces’ resources, while also drawing the ire of U.S. officials.

Internal government briefing notes shed new light on Washington’s “concerns regarding abuse” of the visa exemption, and the pressure Ottawa was under to reimpose the requirement.

“Mexican nationals entering Canada … subsequently attempting to enter the U.S. illegally remains a bilateral irritant,” reads the document obtained by Global News through access to information laws.

“The idea that the United States sees something is an ‘irritant’ is notable because what the Americans see as an ‘irritant’ is seen by Canadians as existential … that is likely the last straw,” Carleton University political science professor Aaron Ettinger said.

The briefing notes dated Jan. 23 – a month before Miller reinstated the visa requirement – include talking points prepared for Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc ahead of a meeting with U.S. Ambassador David Cohen.

“Canada shares U.S. concerns regarding abuse of visa-free travel by Mexican passport holders,” the document says.

“I (LeBlanc) understand the impacts that Canadian visa decisions have on the Canada-U.S. border, and the increased degree of illegal southbound migration generated by the Mexico visa exemption.”

Ettinger, who specializes in U.S. foreign policy, says Canada likely weighed those concerns