Late Friday, President Trump announced that the United States had finalized an agreement with Guatemala that will help relieve the flood of migrants at our southern border. This “Safe Third Country Agreement” mirrors one we currently have in place with Canada. Going forward, individuals traveling through Guatemala must apply for asylum there instead of at our border.
For example, a Honduran family or an El Salvadoran national will apply for asylum in Guatemala rather than making the journey to the U.S. Migrants that do make the journey to our southern border will be removed back to Guatemala to apply for asylum there.
This is a huge step in the right direction to tackling our crisis at the border. This agreement will provide relief to our overwhelmed resources at the border, protect the integrity of the asylum system and assist with reducing the power of human smuggling organizations that are preying on migrants.
I applaud President Trump for using the authority he has in law to tackle this crisis. I continue to encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to put aside politics and allow us to vote on legislation that provides the funds and policy changes needed to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system.
Congressman Daniel Webster represents The Villages in the U.S. House of Representatives.