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OTTAWA — Border Security Minister Bill Blair says he is talking to lawmakers in the United States about closing a loophole in Canada’s border agreement with the U.S. — one seen as giving asylum-seekers reason to cross into Canada through fields and forests.

The Safe Third Country Agreement says asylum-seekers cannot claim refugee protection in Canada if they arrive at an official border checkpoint from a country that is considered safe, such as the United States.

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But they can claim refugee status if they are already in Canada, which is why tens of thousands of asylum-seekers have been crossing into Canada through unofficial entry points on foot.

“There has been some discussion about how we might apply the agreement to those who present themselves at a place other than the border where there’s clear evidence that they’ve come from the United States, that they were in a place that was, in fact, a safe third country, or if they’ve made application in the United States and they have legal travel documents in the United States,” Blair told The Canadian Press Friday.