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U.S. plan to make Guatemala take asylum seekers called ludicrous by rights group
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS JUNE 14, 2019 / 5:35 PM / UPDATED 9 HOURS AGO
U.S. plan to make Guatemala take asylum seekers called ludicrous by rights group
Sofia Menchu
4 MIN READ
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - A U.S. plan to make asylum seekers from Honduras and El Salvador seek refuge in Guatemala instead of the United States would endanger, not protect, refugees, a prominent rights group said on Friday as U.S. negotiators met Guatemalan officials.
U.S. rights group Human Rights First said it was “simply ludicrous” for the United States to assert that Guatemala was capable of protecting refugees, when its own citizens are fleeing violence.
“The Trump administration is doubling down on its efforts to block, bar and punish refugees for attempting to seek asylum in the United States,” said Eleanor Acer, senior director for refugee protection at Human Rights First.
“These policies put the lives of refugees in great danger.”
Guatemala, like its neighbors Honduras and El Salvador, suffers high levels of violence, driven largely by transnational street gangs including MS-13, which operate across borders in all three countries. Many asylum seekers cite gang threats as the reason they come to the United States for refuge.
-snip-
U.S. plan to make Guatemala take asylum seekers called ludicrous by rights group
Sofia Menchu
4 MIN READ
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - A U.S. plan to make asylum seekers from Honduras and El Salvador seek refuge in Guatemala instead of the United States would endanger, not protect, refugees, a prominent rights group said on Friday as U.S. negotiators met Guatemalan officials.
U.S. rights group Human Rights First said it was “simply ludicrous” for the United States to assert that Guatemala was capable of protecting refugees, when its own citizens are fleeing violence.
“The Trump administration is doubling down on its efforts to block, bar and punish refugees for attempting to seek asylum in the United States,” said Eleanor Acer, senior director for refugee protection at Human Rights First.
“These policies put the lives of refugees in great danger.”
Guatemala, like its neighbors Honduras and El Salvador, suffers high levels of violence, driven largely by transnational street gangs including MS-13, which operate across borders in all three countries. Many asylum seekers cite gang threats as the reason they come to the United States for refuge.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-mexico-guatemala/u-s-plan-to-make-guatemala-take-asylum-seekers-called-ludicrous-by-rights-group-idUSKCN1TF2MV
