Guatemala, which has lost over 1% of its population to the United States via illegal immigration since just September, has signed a deal with President Trump’s Homeland Security chief to stop the surge.
At the start of a series of meetings in Guatemala, acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan “formalized” an agreement also aimed at stopping human and drug trafficking and snuff out the “push factors” that draw illegal immigrants to the U.S.
In a statement, McAleenan said, “Through our continued collaboration and partnership, the U.S. and Guatemala are formalizing a number of initiatives to improve the lives and security of our respective citizens by combating human trafficking and the smuggling of illegal goods, helping to limit ‘push’ factors that encourage dangerous irregular migration to the U.S., perpetuating the ongoing crisis at or border.”
The administration has put a new focus on the so-called Northern Triangle of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras that are the biggest source of illegal immigrants trying to enter the U.S. They hope to help those nations curb migration.
He signed the “memorandum” with Guatemalan Minister Enrique Antonio Degenhart at the beginning of a four-day trip to the region.
Secrets recently reported that over 1% of Guatemalans have fled the country for the United States. McAleenan recently said that 3% of one Guatemala county has fled for the U.S. in the past eight months.
“The current migration flows, especially of vulnerable families and children, from Central America through Mexico, to remote areas all along the U.S. border, represent both a security and humanitarian crisis. The situation is not sustainable,” he said.
The department said memorandum of cooperation will also target illegal trade and financial flows, though there were no details on topics such as remittances.
But, the statement did say that the deal will “include law enforcement training and collaboration to improve criminal investigations. Other areas of cooperation include increasing the security of the Guatemalan border to stem the flow of irregular migration while ensuring proper preparation to improve the ability of both countries to identify and better understand their root causes.”
