Democratic Lawmakers Denounce DHS ‘Ad Hoc’ Migrant Deportations In Guatemala

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29 Окт 2020, 23:18

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In this Jan. 16 photo, Honduran migrants walking in a group stop before Guatemalan police near Agua Caliente, Guatemala, on the border with Honduras. The Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee say U.S. immigration agents in Guatemala helped officials deport Hondurans traveling in a migrant caravan early this year.

Santiago Billy/AP

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Santiago Billy/AP

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In his presidential bid, Joe Biden has denounced Trump for curbing access to asylum in the U.S. and for separating children from migrant parents. «Kids in cages» has become a battle cry in the Democrats’ campaign for a more humane approach to migrants and asylum-seekers.

In their letter about the activities of the U.S. agents in Guatemala, the Democratic lawmakers charged DHS «carried out an ad hoc operation that appears to have lacked protocols related to security, personal safety, and the screening of migrants who may have been eligible for international protection.» They also asked if Honduran migrant families had been separated and, if so, whether proper measures were taken to ensure reunification.

When Democratic congressional staffers first asked the State Department in January about the incident in Guatemala, State relayed their questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which denied its agents participated in the roundup. DHS reversed itself and acknowledged its involvement eight days later — but not before the State Department had informed Congress of the denial.

In their letter, congressional Democrats, including Sen. Bob Menendez and Guatemala-born congresswoman Norma Torres, accused the administration of transmitting false information to Congress. «We trust you recognize the gravity of this matter and will take immediate steps to prevent future incidents,» they wrote. Earlier, Sen. Menendez, the ranking member on the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, asked the inspectors general of both DHS and the State Department to investigate.

Calls for comment to the Department of Homeland Security were not returned. A State Department spokesman said, «As a general matter, we do not comment on congressional correspondence.»

Migrant advocates worry such actions by DHS agents abroad could hurt agreements U.S. agencies have with countries in the region.

«It’s hard to imagine any foreign government welcoming U.S. agents carrying out immigration enforcement actions in their country, and that could easily undermine other forms of cooperation,» said Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute.

At the time of the incident, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei had just taken office. When the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s report was made public earlier this month, a Guatemalan official told Al Jazeera his government would try to verify the story.

Guatemala’s Migration Agency referred NPR’s request for comment to the president’s office, which did not respond.