In a surprise announcement Friday, President Trump said the U.S. has signed a “safe third country” agreement with Guatemala, which the White House says will require migrants from other countries who pass through Guatemala to seek protection in Guatemala instead of in the United States, and send migrants back if they reach the United States without having done so. The agreement comes after Guatemala’s Constitutional Court blocked that country’s president from declaring Guatemala a safe third country for asylum-seekers.
The details of the agreement have yet to be released. Mr. Trump insisted Friday the U.S and Guatemala have a great relationship, despite his vocalized frustrations with the country in recent months. Friday’s announcement suggests a change of heart since Wednesday, when the president said that Guatemala had backed away from talks about a safe third country agreement.
“@realDonaldTrump keeps working hard for this country – the U.S. just signed a ‘Safe Third Agreement’ w Guatemala to help secure our border. As the President works hard to solve the crisis on the southern border, I sure hope the dems enjoy their vacations!” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a tweet.
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said the agreement aims to slow “irregular migration.”
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“In recent days, the bilateral relationship between Guatemala and the United States of America has been strengthened through the search for joint solutions to deal with the phenomenon of migration,” Morales said in a translated statement. “Thanks to the working groups we have established, officials from the two governments have agreed to support actions that aim to mitigate irregular migration. As a result of these actions we have reached a Cooperation Agreement concerning the Test for Requests for Protections that contemplates efforts by the country to slow this irregular migration and in this manner cooperate with the migratory policies of both counties.”
But the decision is already being criticized by some humanitarian groups. Refugees International President Eric Schwartz condemned the announcement as in violation of U.S. law and declared Guatemala unsafe for migrants.
“Today’s announcement that the Trump administration has reached a ‘safe third country’ agreement with Guatemala is very alarming. As Refugees International has previously stated, Guatemala is in no way safe for refugees and asylum seekers, and all the strong-arming in the world won’t make it so,” Schwartz said in a statement. “This agreement also violates U.S. law and will put some of the most vulnerable people in Central America in grave danger. At the moment, it is not clear exactly what arrangement has been reached in light of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court’s provisional decision against a third country agreement. But the president’s statements on this are of the deepest concern. Such an arrangement would make a mockery of the notion that those fleeing persecution in Central America have any recourse.”
Mr. Trump has long expressed frustration with Central American countries and their failure to halt migration to the U.S.
