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Trump may sign asylum deal with Guatemala that critics call illegal and dangerous

Rogue Valley

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Trump may sign asylum deal with Guatemala that critics call illegal and dangerous

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President Trump and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales are expected to sign an agreement Monday that would require asylum seekers who transit through Guatemala to claim asylum in that country instead of the U.S., according to three sources briefed on negotiations. The "safe third country agreement" is one of the ways in which Trump hopes to stem the flow of migrants from Central America to the U.S., but critics say Guatemala neither is safe enough for asylum seekers to stay there nor has the capability to process asylum claims. The agreement is still not finalized, according to two of the sources, who described things as close but still in flux. Trump himself has repeatedly promised that a deal is close to finished. "Guatemala is going to be signing a safe third agreement," Trump told reporters on July 5. He tweeted the country was "getting ready to sign" an agreement on June 17. But inking one on Monday would be a fundamental shift in how the U.S. processes asylum cases.

Migrants who enter the U.S. can claim asylum if they suffered persecution or fear persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, or membership in a particular social group. A judge determines whether or not a migrant meets those requirements, but there is an enormous backlog in processing cases. The administration has also begun deporting asylum seekers to Mexico while their cases are adjudicated, with at least 13,000 migrants now waiting there. The policy was halted by a federal judge in April, but a higher court lifted the injunction in June while the case proceeds. In particular, critics say Guatemala does not have the legal and physical infrastructure to process asylum cases and is not safe enough for migrants to live there instead of their home countries like neighboring El Salvador and Honduras. A potential safe third country agreement is controversial in Guatemala as well, where there are efforts to put it to a halt. Under investigation for corruption, President Morales is term-limited and will be out of office after elections that are ongoing. He has ordered the expulsion of a United Nations-sponsored, U.S.-funded investigative body tasked with rooting out corruption and already tried to curry favor with Trump by moving Guatemala's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

I highly doubt Guatemala has the requisite infrastructure to accommodate tens of thousands of US asylum seekers. I also believe this proposed agreement to be in violation of numerous US laws and treaties.

Related: Guatemalan president postpones White House meeting with Trump
 
Guatemala is balking. It's not close to being a thing yet.
 
Guatemala is balking. It's not close to being a thing yet.

The article is correct. Such an agreement is under discussion with Guatemala. With Mexico also.
 
It seems Guatemala’s constitutional court granted an injunction late Sunday stopping President Jimmy Morales from signing a controversial immigration proposal that would require migrants from El Salvador and Honduras to seek asylum there rather than the U.S.
 
Guatemala cancels leader's meeting with Trump as court mulls "safe third country" status for asylum seekers

7/15/19
Guatemala City -- A meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Guatemalan counterpart Jimmy Morales purportedly over a potential "safe third country" agreement for asylum seekers has been canceled, Guatemala's office of the presidency said Sunday. The presidency said that the meeting would be rescheduled because the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on legal appeals aimed at preventing Morales from acceding to Mr. Trump's requests. The meeting had been set to take place Monday. "Due to speculation and legal proceedings admitted for processing to the Constitutional Court, a decision was made to reschedule the bilateral meeting until we know what was resolved by said court," a statement said. "The government of the republic reiterates that at no moment has it contemplated signing an agreement to convert Guatemala into a safe third country." It added that other bilateral issues in the public interest would continue to be discussed.

Critics have said that the Guatemalan government does not have the resources to help migrants and asylum seekers trying to get to the U.S. when tens of thousands of its own citizens have fled just this year. U.S. officials said that "safe third country" is on the table though not finalized, but the Guatemalan government said it was not intending to make such a deal. The Constitutional Court was scheduled to convene on Sunday to discuss the legal basis for prohibiting Morales, Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel and Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart from signing an agreement. Alfredo Brito, secretary for presidential communication, told The Associated Press there is no scheduled date for a new meeting between Morales and Mr. Trump.

Someone is lying. In this case I tend to think the corrupt Morales administration is doing the ducking and dodging.

That said, I have to wonder why the Trump administration would even consider entering into an agreement with a president (Morales) who has expelled the UN/US investigative team probing into his widespread corruption. Such corrupt officials look upon a large US funded operation like the proposed asylum agreement as a Golden Egg, perfect for skimming millions. Seems Trump doesn't care if US taxpayer dollars tumble down this rabbit hole.
 
No wonder Trump wants to do business with this Guatemalan president.....

In January 2017, Morales' older brother and close adviser Samuel "Sammy" Morales, as well as one of Morales' sons, José Manuel Morales, were arrested on corruption and money laundering charges.[17][18] According to media reports, the arrests prompted several large protests of up to 15,000 people demanding for President Morales' removal. The most recent took place in September 2017. Morales, whose campaign slogan was, "neither corrupt, nor a crook", refused to step down.[19][20][21][22]

In September 2017, it was revealed that the Ministry of Defense, headed by Williams Mansilla, had been paying President Morales a $7,300 per month bonus since December 2016, in addition to his regular salary.[29] The payments from the defense ministry were referred to as a "Bonus for Extraordinary Responsibility."[29] Mansilla resigned from office soon after the payments were revealed to the public.[29] He was later arrested and charged with corruption in January 2018, relating to the special bonus to Morales.[29] President Morales denied the bonuses were illegal, but did return approximately $60,000 to the government.[29]

The acquisition by the government of services and luxury items for the president using public monies caused controversy, although he indicated not being personally involved in those expenses.[30]

A former cabinet minister accused Jimmy Morales of having sexually abused young female public workers with complicity of other government officials.[31]
Jimmy Morales

He's as corrupt as Trump.
 
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