The Trump Administration is evaluating an asylum agreement with El Salvador to facilitate the deportation of migrants.
The agreement would designate El Salvador as a safe third country, allowing the United States to deport non-Salvadoran migrants to El Salvador instead of returning them to their home countries.
The deported individuals would then be instructed to seek asylum in El Salvador, as it would be considered a safe third country. This agreement would revive an accord between the Trump administration and El Salvador that was terminated by the Biden administration.
El Salvador and US asylum agreement
The safe third country deal between the US and El Salvador would be a significant achievement for the Trump administration. The newly sworn-in President has stated multiple times that one of his objectives is to deport the migrants admitted by the Biden administration during their four years in office.
The deal would enable the U.S. to circumvent policies that reject or limit U.S. deportations, which countries like Venezuela have in place. Trump also designated the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua as a terrorist group within a few hours of his inauguration.
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador has made his country one of the safest in Latin America according to crime rates, thanks to his stringent crackdown on crime and gang violence. He and the Salvadoran government have orchestrated many mass incarcerations since coming into power, subduing powerful gangs that once made the country one of the most dangerous.
El Salvador is anticipated to be a significant ally of the Trump administration over the next four years. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit the country at the beginning of February. Trump and Bukele spoke over the phone on January 23rd, discussing “working together to stop illegal immigration and crack down on transnational gangs like Tren de Aragua.”
Immigrant crackdowns
President Trump is already making moves to crack down on immigration and the deportation of unauthorized migrants, giving Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers more leeway in arresting undocumented people, shutting down the application for Mexico to US asylum seekers, and reinforcing the borders using the US military through an emergency declaration.
With illegal immigrants already being transported via military planes, having El Salvador as another safe third-country option would provide Trump with an additional destination for migrants not accepted back by their home country.
The US has only one safe third-country agreement, with Canada. However, during his first term, Trump made deals with Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to designate them as safe third countries until Biden terminated these agreements.
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