Officials from the two nations, however, denied signing any third-country agreement with the United States.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that Honduras and Guatemala have signed deals that would allow people applying for asylum in the United States to seek refuge in those nations instead.
“Honduras and now Guatemala, after today, will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refuge status as well,” Noem told reporters after concluding her three-day trip to Central America.
Noem stated that the agreements are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to expand options for transferring refugees, allowing their deportation to third countries, rather than just to their own countries.
“We’ve never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the United States,” she said.
Guatemalan and Honduran officials, however, denied signing any third-country agreement with the United States during Noem’s visit. Honduran immigration director Wilson Paz said no such deal was made.
Guatemala’s presidential communications office also denied signing any immigration-related agreement during a meeting with Noem, noting that its nation would only serve as a temporary stop for Central American migrants being returned by U.S. authorities to their home countries.
The Epoch Times sought comment from the Department of Homeland Security, but did not receive a response by publication time.
On June 26, Noem and Guatemalan Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a Joint Security Program that would allow both nations to share biometric data and expand cooperation in criminal vetting to enhance security at borders and airports.
Jimenez said that the memorandum is intended to protect Guatemalans from “real threats” and to strengthen the Central American nation’s border and airport security controls.
“Strengthening cooperation ties with our allies is key to ensuring the safety of Guatemalan citizens,” he stated on social media platform X. “The relationship with the U.S. in matters of security is stronger than ever.”
The United States also signed “a statement of intent” for biometric cooperation with Honduras on June 26, with a focus on tackling illegal immigration, according to Noem.
