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Guatemala's shortcomings raise doubts about U.S. migration deal
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS JULY 31, 2019 / 3:06 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Guatemala's shortcomings raise doubts about U.S. migration deal
Sofia Menchu
6 MIN READ
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala’s refugee agency meets only sporadically and operates on a bare-bones basis, adding to doubts about how the crime-wracked, impoverished Central American country will cope with a surge in asylum-seekers under a deal signed with Washington.
Under Friday’s accord, Guatemala becomes a so-called “safe third country,” turning it into a buffer zone for migrants trying to reach the United States, and potentially lifting applications for asylum in Guatemala from a few hundred a year to tens of thousands.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed Mexico and Guatemala to sign such agreements to make asylum-seekers passing through their territory solicit safe haven in those countries, and not in the United States.
Mexico has so far refused, but under pressure from Trump it has accepted taking in Central American migrants while their applications for asylum in the United States are processed by U.S. courts.
Guatemala only agreed after Trump threatened to impose what President Jimmy Morales described on Facebook as “drastic” economic sanctions against the country, which is heavily dependent on billions of dollars in remittances sent home by Guatemalans in the United States.
-snip-
Guatemala's shortcomings raise doubts about U.S. migration deal
Sofia Menchu
6 MIN READ
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala’s refugee agency meets only sporadically and operates on a bare-bones basis, adding to doubts about how the crime-wracked, impoverished Central American country will cope with a surge in asylum-seekers under a deal signed with Washington.
Under Friday’s accord, Guatemala becomes a so-called “safe third country,” turning it into a buffer zone for migrants trying to reach the United States, and potentially lifting applications for asylum in Guatemala from a few hundred a year to tens of thousands.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed Mexico and Guatemala to sign such agreements to make asylum-seekers passing through their territory solicit safe haven in those countries, and not in the United States.
Mexico has so far refused, but under pressure from Trump it has accepted taking in Central American migrants while their applications for asylum in the United States are processed by U.S. courts.
Guatemala only agreed after Trump threatened to impose what President Jimmy Morales described on Facebook as “drastic” economic sanctions against the country, which is heavily dependent on billions of dollars in remittances sent home by Guatemalans in the United States.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-guatemala/guatemalas-shortcomings-raise-doubts-about-u-s-migration-deal-idUSKCN1UQ2I5