Guatemala And Honduras Deny Signing Safe Third-Country Agreements Despite Kristi Noem Saying So

Noem said agreements would offer asylum-seekers options different than the U.S.
Demian Bio @bio_demian / Published Jun 27 2025, 12:07 PM EDT

Honduras and Guatemala rejected having signed any immigration-related agreements with the U.S. despite Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Kristi Noem claiming so during a trip to the Central American nations.

According to The Associated Press, Noem described the agreements as ways to offer asylum-seekers alternatives to the U.S. and that the Trump administration put pressure on the two countries to get them to sign.

"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, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn't necessarily have to be the United States," she added.

Guatemala, however, said the government didn't sign any immigration-related agreements during Noem's visit, with its presidential communications office saying the country will receive Central American deportees and provide them with a temporary stop on the way back to their respective countries. Honduras' immigration director Wilson Paz, on his end, denied any agreements were signed.

More:
https://www.latintimes.com/guatemala-honduras-deny-signing-safe-third-country-agreements-despite-kristi-noem-saying-so-585780