Asylum Cooperation Agreement Guatemala

(A) No foreigner may be deported to the country of foreign nationality or, if the foreigner does not have nationality, in the country of the last habitual residence of the foreigner, in accordance with an agreement approved in accordance with Section 208 (a) (2) (A); and asylum is a form of discretionary discharge in accordance with INA Section 208, 8 U.S.C. 1158. Under this provision, foreigners seeking asylum must: (i) prove that they meet the definition of a „refugee” under INA 101(a) (a) (A), 8 U.S.C 1101 (a) (42)). (ii) that they are not subject to a prohibition on seeking asylum or the reception of asylum; and (iii) that they deserve a favourable assessment exercise. INA 208 (a) (b), 8 U.S.C. 1158 (a) — (b). Start Printed Page 63998 Asylum is a discretionary immigration benefit that can generally be claimed by foreigners who are physically resident or arriving in the United States. See INA 208 (a) (1), 8 U.S.C. 1158 (a) (1). Over the past decade, the United States has seen a marked increase in the number of foreigners encountered near or near its borders, particularly the southern land border with Mexico, such as the department`s recent joint settlement requiring some foreigners who wish to seek asylum, first in at least one country through which they have transited to the United States for equivalent protection. , see asylum authorization and procedural changes, 84 FR 33829, 33830 (16 July 2019).

This increase has been accompanied by a sharp increase in the number and percentage of foreigners seeking asylum or who are afraid of persecution or torture when apprehended or met by DHS. For example, as the third-country transit rule has found, the proportion of foreigners brought in for credible anxiety interviews under DEE procedures has increased from about 5% to more than 40% over the past decade. Id. at 33830-31. The number of asylum procedures submitted to the DOJ has also increased sharply and more than tripled between 2013 and 2018. Id. to 33831. During the same period, the number of applications for membership increased from 44,453 in 2013 to 106,147 in 2018. The INA ACA provision represents the political objective of concluding bilateral or multilateral agreements to promote burden-sharing between the United States and other countries with respect to refugee protection.

U.S. efforts to formulate ACA with foreign countries are consistent with efforts by other liberal democracies to develop cooperation agreements in which several countries agree to share control over refugee protection claims. An agreement between the United States and Guatemala, the Us-Guatemala Asylum Cooperation Agreement (ACA), allows the United States to quickly deport non-Guatemalan asylum seekers to Guatemala without allowing them to file asylum claims in the United States, but also does not allow them effective protection in Guatemala.