US Sends First Migrants Back To Guatemala As Part Of New Asylum Rule - Reports

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2019) The Trump administration on Thursday sent back the first group of migrants to Guatemala as part of a new asylum rule to restrict immigration to the United States, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told US media.

"For Guatemala specifically, we have begun a phased-in implementation approach, which includes sending an initial flight," the official said as quoted by Fox news on Thursday. "The DHS, alongside the State Department, will continue to work with the Government of Guatemala and international organizations as we expand the program in the weeks and months ahead."

The report said that under the new rule, asylum-seeking migrants arriving at the US border will have the option of being sent to Guatemala, their country of origin, or to wait in Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols program.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration began to implement a new asylum rule to send asylum-seeking migrants to Guatemala, El Salvador or Guatemala as part of bilateral "safe third country" agreements with each country.

The rule is damaging to the hopes of many migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, who arrive at the United States without claiming asylum in a country prior to arriving at the southern border. A majority of these migrants are fleeing persecution and poverty in their home countries.

On October 29, acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan said US apprehensions of undocumented immigrants at the US-Mexico border reached more than 970,000 in fiscal year 2019, marking an 88 percent increase from last year.

Caravans of migrants from Central American countries seeking asylum began to move toward the United States through Mexico last fall. US President Donald Trump called the surge of arrivals a crisis and declared a national emergency in February to secure funds to build a wall on the border with Mexico.