Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday that the United States has signed a new agreement with Honduras and Guatemala to accept asylum seekers attempting to reach the U.S.
The announcement came on the final day of Noem’s trip to Central America and aligns with the Trump administration’s broader efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and step up deportations of individuals convicted of serious crimes.
According to the Associated Press, Noem argued that migrants—many of whom are fleeing conflict zones or oppressive regimes—should have the option to seek refuge in countries other than the United States.
“Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well,” Noem said. “We’ve never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the United States.”
The United States already maintains an asylum agreement with Canada. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a similar agreement with Guatemala; however, that deal primarily designated Guatemala as a transit country for migrants en route to deportation, rather than a destination for accepting refugees.
Meanwhile, Mexico announced on Tuesday that it would not enter into a formal asylum agreement with the U.S., though it has accepted more than 5,000 migrants from other countries who have been deported by the U.S. since President Trump took office.
