Quebec asked the Canadian government to request entry visas for Mexicans to put stop the flow of refugee seekers who arrive in the country after the French-speaking province welcomed more than 60 thousand refugees in 2023.

The request was made by the head of the Quebec government, François Legault, to the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, in a letter whose content was announced this Thursday, January 18.

Legault emphasized in the letter that during the first 11 months of 2023, Quebec has welcomed around 60,000 asylum seekers, or three times more per capita than in any other Canadian province.

The head of the Quebec government described the situation in the province as “intolerable”.

Legault's request particularly affects Mexicans and Haitians, the two largest groups of refugee claimants in 2023. Canada does not require entry visas for Mexican citizens.

Official figures from Canada's Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship indicate that from January to November 2023, 128,685 people arrived in Canada and they asked for refuge. Of this figure, 59,735 did so in Quebec.

From January to September, the The largest number of applications for refugee status in 2023 came from Mexico, 22,875, followed by Haiti, with 16,693. Colombia comes in third place, with 9,754 requests.

Legault told Trudeau that the flow of asylum seekers from Mexico is explained “in part” by the fact that Mexicans do not need a visa to enter the country.

This is why he wants Trudeau to tighten the visa policy, since nationals of most countries in the world can only board a flight to Canada if they are in possession of a entry visa into the country.

“Relaxing visa policies poses risks by allowing loopholes exploited by criminal groups, which poses serious concerns for the security of Quebec and Canada,” Legault said.

Last year, Washington also asked Ottawa to again demand entry visas for Mexicans considering that many Mexican citizens arrive in Canada and then go to the United States.

Data from Canada's Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship indicates that in the first three months of 2023, 13,845 refugee claimants arrived in Quebec through land entry points.

But after Ottawa and Washington signed an agreement in March 2023 to prevent asylum seekers from entering Canada through unofficial ports of entry, leading to the closure of Quebec's notorious Roxham Road border crossing , the flow of land arrivals has decreased dramatically.

From April to November, only 5,695 people entered Quebec by land to seek refuge. At the same time, arrivals by air increased from April to add 23,245 in the first 11 months of 2023.