The Biden administration has suspended and begun terminating the Trump administration’s immigration agreements with the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Saturday.
The Trump Administration signed separate agreements with Guatemala in July 2019 and with El Salvador and Honduras in September 2019 that restricted asylum seekers from those countries from applying for asylum in the United States, instead allowing them to seek protection in their countries of origin.
The suspension of the asylum cooperation agreements with the three Central American countries is “a first step on the path to strengthening partnerships and cooperation in the region,” Blinken said.
In a statement, Blinken said: “As envisioned by President Biden, we have informed the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that the United States is taking this action in an effort to establish a cooperative, mutually respectful approach to managing migration throughout the region.
Blinken’s move to end the agreement, announced Saturday, is intended to respond to a series of measures President Biden announced last week to transform the U.S. immigration system. Those measures include creating a task force to reunite families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border and raising the annual cap on refugee admissions.
On the eve of Biden’s swearing-in, a large number of illegal Honduran immigrants began forming caravans in an attempt to break through the barriers of the countries they were passing through and push toward the United States. One member of the caravan of migrants leaving Honduras told The Hill, “Biden is going to help us all by giving us legal status and a better Life for our children and our families.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said in a Fox TV interview Sunday that the immigration executive orders signed by President Biden since taking office have effectively sent the message that open U.S. borders pose a risk to Texas.
Sheriff’s officials in Arizona also said the situation at the U.S. southern border is worsening. Matthew Thomas, deputy chief constable in the state’s Pinal County, showed reporters the recent trail of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States. He said the border crisis will begin to resurface around the end of 2020, with traffickers and drug cartels expecting President Biden to adopt a “hands-off” policy on the border.
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