A record number of Americans are seeking asylum in Canada

Angeli Kakade

Data released from Canadian immigration officials shows a record breaking number of Americans applied for asylum in Canada during 2017.

That number was up by more than six times as 2016, according to the Guardian.

The 2,550 U.S. citizens who applied for citizenship last year, made up the third largest group after Haitian and Nigerian immigrants.

According to the Guardian, most of those seeking asylum in Canada were Americans who had non citizen parents. The spike in asylum seekers makes sense.

President Trump in 2017 said he was ending temporary protections for immigrants from El Salvador Honduras, Haiti and Sudan.

In October, Trump announced he wanted to end birthright citizenship, which grants citizenship to children born in U.S. to non-citizen parents.

While Business Insider reports there’s been no official policy move on the plan yet, Canada could possibly see another boost in American asylum seekers in 2018.

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