Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump in the White House on Monday for bilateral talks that were expected to focus primarily on immigration issues.
That meeting has been indefinitely postponed, however, following internal disagreement among Guatemalan officials with regard to a potential “safe third country” designation for the Central American nation, according to reports.
“‘Safe third country” status
CBS News reported that the cancellation of the Monday meeting was announced publicly on Sunday by Morales’ office, and it is unclear when that meeting will take place now even though both Guatemalan and U.S. officials insist it will be rescheduled for an unspecified date in the near future.
At issue is an internal legal dispute in Guatemala over the “safe third country” status that would require migrants from other Central American nations like El Salvador and Honduras, not to mention South American migrants — who typically must pass through Guatemala in order to reach Mexico and the U.S. — to make their asylum claims in Guatemala.
The potential designation was challenged in Guatemala’s Constitutional Court and additional time was needed to let the legal appeals process play out, leaving President Morales and his administration uncertain as to whether they could legally enter into a “safe third country” agreement with the U.S.
Holding pattern
“Due to speculation and legal proceedings admitted for processing to the Constitutional Court, a decision was made to reschedule the bilateral meeting until we know what was resolved by said court,” the Guatemalan office of the presidency said in a statement Sunday.
“The government of the republic reiterates that at no moment has it contemplated signing an agreement to convert Guatemala into a safe third country,” the statement added, though the statement also made clear that other bilateral issues — including those related to immigration — were still very much up for discussion in the meantime.
That official added that the U.S. “will continue to work with the Government of Guatemala on concrete and immediate steps that can be taken to address the ongoing migration crisis.”
On Sunday, the Constitutional Court handed down a decision that effectively blocked the country’s president from making an immediate “safe third country” declaration, and ruled that approval from the Guatemalan congress would be required before any such agreement could be ratified.
Asylum dilemma
As noted, a “safe third country” agreement would mean that migrants who pass through Guatemala on their way to seek asylum in the U.S. or Mexico would be required to apply in the first safe country they reach, which in the case of other Central and South American nations would mean Guatemala.
Unfortunately, Guatemala doesn’t really have the resources — nor is it particularly “safe” enough — to be capable of handling the tens or even hundreds of thousands of potential asylum-seekers that pass through its borders during their journey.
Until the issue is settled legislatively in Guatemala, Morales is all but handcuffed in terms of reaching an agreement with Trump, so at least as of now, the potential solution that could lessen the number of migrants headed to the U.S. border will remain in limbo.
1,007 Responses
Hello There. I discovered your weblog the use of msn. That is an extremely neatly written article. I’ll make sure to bookmark it and come back to learn more of your useful information. Thank you for the post. I’ll certainly return.
What a information of un-ambiguity and preserveness of valuable familiarity concerning unexpected feelings.|
This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks!|
Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information to work on. You have done a outstanding job!|
Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and I in finding It really useful & it helped me out a lot. I am hoping to give one thing again and aid others like you helped me.|
It’s impressive that you are getting ideas from this piece of writing as well as from our dialogue made here.|
Hi there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I really enjoy reading through your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same subjects? Thank you so much!|
This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your magnificent post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks!|
Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your webpage? My blog is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would truly benefit from a lot of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Many thanks!
I do trust all the concepts you’ve introduced on your post. They are very convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are very quick for newbies. May you please lengthen them a little from next time? Thank you for the post.|
Hi would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a hard time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S Sorry for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
I really like it whenever people come together and share opinions. Great blog, keep it up!|
Wow! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a completely different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Great choice of colors!|
Amazing! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a entirely different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!|
I’ve been browsing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You obviously know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
You completed several fine points there. I did a search on the subject and found the majority of persons will agree with your blog.
I do agree with all of the ideas you have presented in your post. They are very convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are very short for beginners. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.
Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your post seem to be running off the screen in Chrome. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem solved soon. Kudos
You actually make it seem really easy along with your presentation but I find this topic to be actually one thing that I believe I’d by no means understand. It seems too complex and extremely vast for me. I am having a look ahead on your subsequent put up, I’ll attempt to get the dangle of it!|
Hi there i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anywhere, when i read this article i thought i could also create comment due to this sensible piece of writing.|
I will immediately seize your rss feed as I can’t to find your email subscription hyperlink or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly permit me realize in order that I may just subscribe. Thanks.|
Do you have a spam issue on this website; I also am a blogger, and I was curious about your situation; we have developed some nice procedures and we are looking to trade solutions with others, why not shoot me an email if interested.|
ดูหนังใหม่ออนไลน์ฟรี ไม่ต้องดูจอใหญ่ ๆ ก็สามารถดูได้ Musical ภาพยนตร์เพลง เช่น ชิคาโก ประเทศไทยยังไม่มีให้เห็นเป็นเรื่องเป็นราวสักเรื่อง แต่ก็ยากที่จะทำให้มีรายได้เพราะความนิยมของคนแนวนี้ไม่มาก
Pretty portion of content. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to claim that I acquire actually loved account your blog posts. Anyway I will be subscribing to your augment and even I success you get right of entry to constantly quickly.
Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I definitely enjoyed reading it, you may be a great author.I will remember to bookmark your blog and may come back someday. I want to encourage yourself to continue your great posts, have a nice morning!|
This piece of writing gives clear idea designed for the new visitors of blogging, that genuinely how to do blogging.|
Hi just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same outcome.|
It’s appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you some interesting things or advice. Maybe you can write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read more things about it!|
Appreciating the time and energy you put into your site and detailed information you offer. It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed information. Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
Hello there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
Pretty nice post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really loved surfing around your weblog posts. In any case I will be subscribing for your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!|
Hello there, You have done a fantastic job. I’ll certainly digg it and for my part suggest to my friends. I am confident they’ll be benefited from this site.
Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely think this web site needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be returning to read more, thanks for the information!|
Your style is very unique in comparison to other folks I have read stuff from. I appreciate you for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this web site.|
I just could not go away your website prior to suggesting that I extremely enjoyed the usual info a person supply on your guests? Is gonna be again frequently to check up on new posts|
I have already been examinating away several of the stories and it’s pretty very good things. I’ll certainly save your own weblog.
I was suggested this blog by my cousin. I’m not sure whether or not this publish is written through him as no one else realize such detailed about my difficulty. You’re wonderful! Thanks!|
Hello! I simply would like to give you a huge thumbs up for the great information you have got right here on this post. I am coming back to your web site for more soon.