Over the past decades there have been several amendments to the US and Canada's immigration
and refugee policies as well as major developments across the disciplines of international
migration and refugee law. This study tackles the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between
the US and Canada which effectively entered into force in the year 2004. The study examines
the trajectory of this agreement the debates and arguments that surrounded it during its early
stages as well as how these debates have evolved alongside developing forced migration
realities since the STCA's implementation. It looks into whether or not these developments
challenge the STCA render it ineffective and consequently put US-Canadian relations into
question. It addresses international mechanisms local realities and bilateral factors which
contribute to the refugee migration debate between the two states - namely the 1951 Refugee
Convention and the 1967 Protocol. It aims to determine the extent to which the international
refugee crisis the Trump Administration and developments in international law have affected
the status of the STCA and subsequently the relationship between the US and Canada.
