President Donald Trump announced Friday that Guatemala has signed a “safe third country” agreement with the United States that will help restrict the number of asylum applications for Central American migrants.
The agreement will require migrants arriving in Guatemala on their way to the United States to apply for asylum in that country and not at the US border.
The move could reduce the high number of migrants, including Salvadorans and Hondurans, who have overwhelmed the U.S. immigration system and give Trump a concession that the president could proclaim as a victory while trying to show progress in his campaign promises on immigration.
“This agreement will take coyotes and smugglers out of business,” Trump said.
The announcement was made after a California court prevented the Trump administration from applying new more restrictive asylum policies.
Both nations had been negotiating the agreement for months, and Trump threatened Wednesday to impose tariffs and other reprisals on Guatemala if they did not accept the deal.
Trump said Friday that the agreement will protect “the rights of those who have legitimate requests,” will end the “abuse” of the asylum system, and lessen the crisis on the southern border of the United States.
The president added that as part of the agreement, the United States will increase access to temporary H-2A work visas for Guatemalan farmworkers.
It is not clear at the moment when the agreement will enter into effect. The Constitutional Court of Guatemala granted three injunctions that prevent the government from signing the agreement without the approval of Congress.
