Jan 15, 2020 - Politics & Policy

ACLU sues Trump administration over Central America asylum agreements

Stef W. Kight

Donald Trump in front of a section of the border wall. — Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Image

The ACLU and other advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging the Trump administration's asylum agreements that allow Honduran and Salvadoran asylum seekers to be sent to Guatemala.

Why it matters: The "safe third country" agreements with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador would keep more asylum seekers out of the U.S., but critics say the program doesn't inform migrants of their other options and sends them to countries that can't offer security. Only the Guatemala agreement is in effect so far.

“The administration is illegally trying to turn away asylum seekers and pass the buck to other countries that can’t protect them," Katrina Eiland, an ACLU attorney said in a press release.
The plaintiffs include a Salvadoran man who fears persecution in Guatemala for his sexual orientation as well as a woman who fled Honduras with her young daughter after her husband and sister-in-law were killed by gang members.

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ACLU sues Trump administration over Central America asylum agreements

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