Washington – The Trump administration is developing an asylum agreement with the government of El Salvador that would allow the United States to deport migrants to the small Central American country who are not from there, two sources familiar with the matter said. internal deliberations at CBS News.
The arrangement, known as a “third country safe” agreement, would allow US IMMIGRATION OFFICERS To expel non-Salvadoran migrants in El Salvador, instead preventing them from seeking asylum in the United States, migrants would be expelled with instructions to seek asylum in El Salvador, which would be designated a “safe third country.”
The plan, if finalized, would revive an agreement that the first Trump administration negotiated with the government of El Salvador, although that agreement was never implemented and was ultimately terminated by the administration of former President Joe Biden.
A secure third-country deal could be a major breakthrough for the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration plans, allowing it to deport migrants from various countries, including Venezuela, that limit or outright reject U.S. deportations of their citizens.
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One of the domestic plans being considered would allow the United States to send deportation flights to El Salvador that include suspected members of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang that President Trump has made a focal point of his crackdown on illegal immigration. Hours after his inauguration, Mr. Trump ordered officials to begin the process of designating Tren de Aragua a terrorist group.
If this plan is implemented, it is unclear how El Salvador would handle the deported gang members. Under President Nayib Bukele, the Salvadoran government has brought El Salvador’s notorious gangs, including MS-13, under control through a campaign of mass incarceration.
Bukele’s government is expected to be a key ally of the Trump administration. Bukele enjoys wide popularity in El Salvador and among U.S. conservatives, primarily because of his anti-gang policies, which international groups say have involved due process violations.
The White House said Mr. Trump and Bukele spoke by phone Thursday and discussed “working together to stop illegal immigration and crack down on transnational gangs like Tren de Aragua.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has promised to make reducing mass migration a top priority, is also expected to visit El Salvador in early February as part of a trip to Latin America that begins later this week.
Representatives for the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Trump has already moved quickly to begin his sweeping immigration crackdown, giving deportation officers broader authorities to arrest and deport unauthorized immigrants, closing access to the asylum system at the U.S.-Mexico border and enlisting the vast resources of the U.S. military for immigration and immigration enforcement purposes through a declaration of emergency.
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Military aircraft are now used To expel migrants crossing the southern border illegally, and additional active-duty troops have been deployed there to erect barriers designed to repel illegal crossings. Longstanding federal law generally prohibits the military from engaging in civilian law enforcement.
A secure third-country deal would add another layer to Mr. Trump’s efforts to seal U.S. borders to migrants and asylum seekers, both through physical barriers and wide-ranging policy changes.
It is unclear how such an arrangement would interact with Mr. Trump’s other moves on asylum, including giving border agents the authority to expel migrants quickly without allowing them to seek legal refuge. His administration is also reinstating a rule, known as Rest-Mexico, that requires asylum seekers to stay outside the United States while their cases are reviewed.
Currently, the United States has a secure third country agreement. Under this arrangement, the United States and Canadian governments exchange asylum seekers crossing their shared border. The first Trump administration forged asylum deals from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Only the one with Guatemala took effect, and all three agreements were suspended once Biden took office.
