July 28 (UPI) — The United States and Guatemala reached an asylum agreement Friday that President Donald Trump said would provide safety for “legitimate” asylum seekers and cut down on human smuggling.
Trump signed the so-called “safe third country” agreement during an Oval Office meeting with Guatemalan Interior Minister Enrique Degenhart. If finalized, it would require migrants who travel through Guatemala to reach the United States to apply for asylum in Guatemala.
The United States has a similar agreement in place with Canada.
“We’ve long been working with Guatemala and now we can do it the right way,” the president said.
He said the agreement will put “coyotes and the smugglers out of business. These are bad people.”
Under the agreement, the United States is expected to expand access to the H2A visa program for businesses, farms and ranches.
“We are going to make that a much easier, less cumbersome program,” Trump said.
Last week, Trump threatened to levy tariffs on Guatemala when it initially refused such a deal.
Trump said he plans to implement safe third country deals with other countries soon.
