Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Antony BlinkenGOP senator insists Biden confirms US will hold embassy in Jerusalem Blinken, Saudi counterpart, discusses Yemen in first call Five things to know about Biden’s Yemen move MORE announced on Saturday that the US will conclude asylum agreements that the Trump administration has entered into with three Central American countries.
Under the Trump-era policy, many asylum seekers seeking refuge on the U.S.-Mexico border first had to seek asylum in El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras.
“The US has suspended the process of terminating the Asylum Cooperation Agreements with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and started as the first concrete steps on the road to greater partnership and cooperation in the region set out by President Biden.” Blinken said in a statement.
We will continue @POTUS‘s vision of safe, orderly and humane regional migration. As we suspend and terminate the asylum cooperation agreements with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, we will take concrete steps towards greater partnership and cooperation.
– Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) 6 February 2021
The Trump administration reached the agreement in 2019 as part of its efforts to curb immigration and reduce the number of refugees entering the U.S. since March last year, all transfers between the US and Guatemala have been suspended.
President Biden last week signed several executive actions on immigration, including one requiring the State Department to “immediately” poll or notify officials in the other three countries that the U.S. intends to leave the agreement. Reuters noted.
‘To be clear, this action does not mean that the US border is open. “While we are committed to expanding legal avenues for protection and opportunity here and in the region, the United States is a country with borders and laws to enforce,” Blinken said in the statement. “We are also committed to providing safe and orderly processing for all who arrive at our border, but those who try to migrate irregularly put themselves and their families at risk on a very dangerous journey.”
Read more about The Hill:
Biden’s immigration policy looks beyond stopping Trump