President Trump on Tuesday warned of future tariffs, remittance fees, and a “ban” after Guatemala opted not to go forward with a planned safe third country agreement that would have directed Central American migrants to claim asylum in the country.
Trump claimed that Guatemala has been forming caravans of migrants and sending some people with criminal records into the United States.
“Guatemala … has decided to break the deal they had with us on signing a necessary Safe Third Agreement. We were ready to go,” Trump tweeted. “Now we are looking at the ‘BAN,’ Tariffs, Remittance Fees, or all of the above. Guatemala has not been good. Big U.S. taxpayer dollars going to them was cut off by me 9 months ago.”
….Tariffs, Remittance Fees, or all of the above. Guatemala has not been good. Big U.S. taxpayer dollars going to them was cut off by me 9 months ago.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2019
It was not immediately clear which specific policies the president was referring to.
Trump has made immigration one of the key issues of his presidency and promised a tougher crackdown on restricting immigration into the U.S.
In May, the president threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico unless it did more to restrain illegal immigration, and the two countries ultimately agreed to negotiate proposals on the influx of asylum seekers into the region. Trump commended Mexico last month for catching Central American migrants and also said that Guatemala would take in more asylum seekers as well.
Guatemala’s government had planned to hold a summit with Trump, during which Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales was expected to sign the third country agreement, but the country’s constitutional court blocked the meeting from happening.
Morales reportedly faced criticism at home because Guatemala was not prepared for the arrival of a vast number of immigrants. For his part, the Guatemalan president said in a statement he never planned to sign the agreement.
“The government of the republic reiterates that at no moment has it contemplated signing an agreement to convert Guatemala into a safe third country,” the statement read.
