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Congressional Hispanic Caucus Statement on Trump Administration Confirmation that it will Deport Some Mexican Asylum Seekers to Guatemala

January 7, 2020

WASHINGTON Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) issued the following statement after the Trump Administration confirmed it will begin sending Mexican asylum seekers to Guatemala as part of a bilateral agreement between the Department of Homeland Security and the Guatemalan Government:

"Right now, tens of thousands are living in tent camps and shelters along the border waiting for asylum. They have suffered the dehumanizing experience of waiting for months just to assert their legal rights because of Remain in Mexico, metering, and other hurdles intentionally created by the Trump Administration to block migrants from entering the US. Now – under this new expansion – Mexican asylum seekers will not have the opportunity to reach safety, and instead may be sent to Guatemala. This cruel and illegal effort aims to discourage families from seeking asylum in the U.S. and will surely have catastrophic impacts.

"Let's be clear: Guatemala is not a ‘safe third country.' Thousands are fleeing the country because of their high crime rates, violence, and corruption. Their government is in no way prepared to take on the thousands of asylum seekers at our border who may be subject to this expanded agreement. We cannot allow this Administration to continue eroding the asylum system to punish migrant families and children. This - and Trump's entire anti-immigrant agenda - must be stopped."

Background: As part of an asylum agreement between the US and Guatemala, the US started sending asylum-seekers from Honduras and El Salvador to Guatemala in November 2019. Now, the Trump Administration has confirmed it will include Mexican asylum seekers in the asylum agreement with Guatemala.

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The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), founded in December 1976, is organized as a Congressional Member organization, governed under the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives. The CHC is dedicated to voicing and advancing, through the legislative process, issues affecting Hispanics in the United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Territories.