The United States has signed new agreements with Honduras and Guatemala that could allow migrants from other nations to seek refuge there instead of applying for asylum in the U.S., Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced at the end of her trip to Central America.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump made it a centerpiece of his new administration to enact the largest deportation in U.S. history. The administration has conducted numerous ICE raids, some of which have swept up people with proper documentation.
Immigration advocacy and human rights groups have launched legal challenges against elements of the administration’s policies, including deportations to third countries and the cancellation of some immigrants’ legal status.
However, the Supreme Court this week ruled in favor of the administration 6-3 that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—for the moment—is allowed to send deported migrants to a third country in which they have no connection, as some nations do not cooperate with the U.S. regarding repatriation.
Associated Press
What To Know
The deal brokered Thursday broadens the Trump administration’s strategy of deporting migrants not just to their home countries but to third countries willing to offer them protection.
Noem said the arrangements had been in development for months, with the U.S. pressuring both governments to finalize the terms.
“Honduras and now Guatemala after today will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well,” Noem said.
“We’ve never believed that the United States should be the only option… The guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and protected—it doesn’t necessarily have to be the United States,” she added.
Noem made the announcement at the tail-end of her trip through Central America, having visited both countries in the past 48 hours.
Honduran Foreign Minister Javier Bú Soto did not make comment after his meeting with Noem other than to state that a deal had been agreed. He provided no explanation of the full details that the agreement entails—only that it will serve mutual collaboration on “issues of migration, border security and the fight against drug trafficking.”
The new deals follow Trump’s request to expand the deportations to South Sudan despite concerns over the country’s serious instability.
What People Are Saying
Supreme Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissent to Monday’s decision: “Rather than allowing our lower court colleagues to manage this high-stakes litigation with the care and attention it plainly requires, this Court now intervenes to grant the Government emergency relief from an order it has repeatedly defied. I cannot join so gross an abuse of the Court’s equitable discretion.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a post on X discussing the Supreme Court decision: “MAJOR win for the safety and security of the American people.”
What Happens Next
The administration will continue to expand its deportation operations despite the ongoing and increasing legal challenges, with the question to be answered Friday about how much power federal judges have to order injunctions against White House executive orders and directives.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
Update 6/26/25, 7:33 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
