Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements with the United States to doubtlessly supply refuge to individuals from different international locations who in any other case would search asylum within the United States, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated on Thursday (June 26, 2025) on the conclusion of her Central America journey.
The agreements increase the Trump administration’s efforts to present the U.S. authorities flexibility in returning migrants not solely to their very own international locations, but in addition to third international locations because it makes an attempt to ramp up deportations.
Ms. Noem described it as a manner to supply asylum-seekers choices aside from coming to the United States. She stated the agreements had been within the works for months. with the U.S. authorities making use of strain on Honduras and Guatemala to get them completed.
“Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well,” Ms. Noem stated. “We’ve never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the United States.”
Both governments denied having signed secure third-country agreements when requested following Ms. Noem’s feedback.
Guatemala’s presidential communications workplace stated the federal government didn’t signal a secure third-country settlement nor any immigration associated settlement throughout Ms. Noem’s go to.
They reaffirmed that Guatemala would obtain Central Americans despatched by the United States as a short lived cease on the return to their international locations.
Ms. Noem had stated on Thursday that “politically, this is a difficult agreement for their governments to do.”
Both international locations have restricted sources and many wants making help for asylum-seekers from different international locations a more durable promote domestically. There are additionally the optics of two left-of-center governments showing to assist the Trump administration restrict entry to U.S. asylum.
Ms. Noem stated that in her Guatemala assembly, she was given the already signed settlement. While later there was a public signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding that establishes a Joint Security Program that can put U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers within the Guatemalan capital’s worldwide airport to assist prepare native brokers to display screen for terrorist suspects.
Honduras’ Immigration Director Wilson Paz denied such an settlement was signed and its Foreign Affairs Ministry didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
During U.S. President Donald Trump’s first time period, the U.S. signed such accords referred to as secure third-country agreements with Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. They successfully allowed the U.S. to declare some asylum seekers ineligible to apply for U.S. safety and permitted the U.S. authorities to ship them to these international locations deemed “safe.”
The U.S. has had such an settlement with Canada since 2002.
The sensible problem was that every one three Central American international locations on the time have been seeing massive numbers of their very own residents head to the U.S. to escape violence and an absence of financial alternative. They additionally had extraordinarily under-resourced asylum methods.
In February, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed offers with El Salvador and Guatemala that allowed the U.S. to ship migrants from different nations there. But in Guatemala’s case it was to solely be some extent of transit for migrants who would then return to their homelands, not to apply for asylum there. And in El Salvador, it was broader, permitting the U.S. to ship migrants to be imprisoned there.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Tuesday (June 24, 2025) that Mexico wouldn’t signal a secure third-country settlement, however on the similar time Mexico has accepted greater than 5,000 migrants from different international locations deported from the U.S. since Mr. Trump took workplace. She stated Mexico accepted them for humanitarian causes and helped them return to their residence international locations.
The U.S. additionally has agreements with Panama and Costa Rica to take migrants from different international locations although to this point the numbers despatched have been comparatively small. The Trump administration despatched 299 to Panama in February and fewer than 200 to Costa Rica.
The agreements give U.S. authorities choices, particularly for migrants from international locations the place it’s not straightforward for the U.S. to return them immediately.
