According to an immigration expert, relaxed Canadian visa requirements can cause an increase in Romanian illegal immigrants crossing the border to the United States.
“First of all, the reason is that they come from Canada, that Canada abolished the visa requirements for Romanians in 2017, I believe,” Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, Fox News Digital told. “So it’s a lot easier to go to Canada than if you are a Romanian. And so you sneak over the border. And why don’t you stay in Canada instead of coming here? I don’t know.”
Data from the American customs and border protection of the Houllton sector in Maine shows that Romanians were less than 1% of the border crossings in tax 2023. In Fiscal 2024, that number rose to almost 12%. Of the 344 illegal crossings in the sector, 40 people were identified as Romanian nationals.
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Border Patrol sets a rural area from the Canadian border in Canaan, vt., On January 20, 2024. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty images)
The Houlton sector is located in Northeast -Maineadjacent to New Brunswick, Canada.
Krikorian suggested that Romanians might try to link to family members in large cities. I-95 walks directly through Houllton, making it easier for migrants to travel south and make contact with family members.
American customs and border protection agents in the Houllton sector arrest a person who illegally crossed the border between the US canada this month to Maine. (American customs and border protection-hoouton sector)
He explained that the majority of Romanians who leave their land flee to Italy and, to a lesser extent, Germany and others European Union to land. Yet more enterprising migrants can continue to the United States.
“Italy is one of the great destinations for many Romanians,” said Krikorian. “But there will be people who want to come here. I mean, the United States are also better than Italy. There are more opportunities here.”
On January 23, 2025, a border patrol agent will hold a road near the border between US-Canada in Mooers Fork, NY. (Reuters/Carlos Osorio)
But with changing visa requirements for Romanians who want to enter the US, Krikorian expects illegal immigration Figures among Romanians to take from the end of this month.
Romanian nationals are eligible for the Visa Waiver program at the end of March. The program enables citizens from participating countries to travel to the US for up to 90 days without a visa, either for tourism or company.
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A graph of the Center for Immigration Studies shows the population born abroad in the last few presidential administrations. (Center for Immigration Studies)
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Krikorian said that the number of illegal Romanian immigrants will fall as a result, but the number of legal Romanian participants will rise, some of whom will go beyond their visas.
“So illegal immigration of Romanians will simply switch, will transform from border jumpers into visa oversogue,” he said.
