In recent news, in an article titled, Trump Administration Begins Sending Asylum Seeker to Guatemala, this past Tuesday under a new rule the U.S. has decided to send back asylum seekers from Honduras and El Salvador back to Guatemala. Unbelievably the U.S government has come to an agreement to send asylum seekers without their consent back to Guatemala when arriving to the U.S borders without a visa or permission of entry. This now means, refuges will be denied any sort of entry or protection unless they are able provide enough evidence and proof to an asylum officer that they are at risk of being tortured and victimized if they are sent to Guatemala.
This idea of “Safe Third Country” has been an objective that the Trump administration has tried to pass and are still attempting to convince other countries that rest along the borders to also sign to allow refugees to seek asylum in their country rather than the U.S. In addition, the U.S had claimed that the Department of Homeland Security had verified that Guatemala was fit to properly evaluate and provide fair measures to determine whether the refugee was eligible for asylum. Yet, eyebrows were raised when it was found that the asylum office in Guatemala had fewer than ten employees. Days before this agreement was set to carry out, Department of Homeland Security made claims that they were unsure whether Guatemala would be able to provide the proper needs for refugees such as food, shelter and other necessities.
Trump administration needs to properly reconsider the new rule before allowing it to go into full effect. Refugees come the U.S with the intention of seeking help and protection and should not be thrown into a country where they too face life threating events.
Families who arrived to the US border seeking protection were automatically put in expedited removal. But now, the Biden Administration is allowing families who arrive at the border seeking protection a chance to explain to officers why they fear to return back to their home countries.
Between 2015-2020 it has been known that ICE has deported 674 potential US citizens back to their countries by mistake. It is proven that ICE nor border customs have an exact number as to how many individuals that are citizens have been mistakenly been sent back to their countries.
