(CNN) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Saturday that the Biden administration has suspended the process and has begun ending Trump-era immigration deals with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
The US top diplomat called the move to suspend asylum cooperation agreements with the three Northern Triangle countries “the first concrete steps towards greater partnership and cooperation in the region established by President Biden.”
“In line with the President’s vision, we have informed the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that the United States has made this decision as efforts begin to establish a cooperative and mutually respectful approach to the management of migration in the region, “Blinken said in a statement.
The United States signed agreements with Guatemala in July 2019 and with El Salvador and Honduras in September 2019 that would have limited the ability of some asylum seekers from these countries to apply for asylum in the United States, and instead lead them to seek protection. their countries of origin.
Blinken noted in his statement that “transfers under the Asylum Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Guatemala had stopped since mid-March 2020 due to COVID-19, and the agreements with El Salvador and Honduras have never been implemented.”
“The Biden government believes there are more appropriate ways to work with our partner governments to manage migration across the region,” he said. “The United States will build on our strong relationships and support these governments’ efforts to address forced displacement without imposing an unnecessary burden on them, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our approach will continue to support their national action plans under the comprehensive conservation framework and regional solutions through international humanitarian partners ”.