{"id":9279,"date":"2021-12-15T12:20:41","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T20:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=9279"},"modified":"2021-12-16T11:04:28","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T19:04:28","slug":"changing-tides-or-more-of-the-same-the-united-states-guatemala-and-immigration-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/changing-tides-or-more-of-the-same-the-united-states-guatemala-and-immigration-in-2021\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"More of the same? The United States, Guatemala, and Immigration in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Henry Bielenberg<\/b><\/p>\n

The early months of 2021 made it possible to feel a bit optimistic regarding evolving relations between the United States and Guatemala. In February, both nations agreed to suspend the Asylum Cooperative Agreement, popularly known as the \u201csafe third country agreement,\u201d bringing to an end an ineffective and unbalanced policy which allowed non-Guatemalan asylum seekers to be deported from the US to Guatemala, where their asylum claims would subsequently be mediated. Despite the fact that Guatemala possessed neither the security capabilities nor bureaucratic infrastructure necessary to ensure the interim safety of refugees, this agreement was strongarmed into existence in 2019 amongst threats of increased tariffs and remittance taxes, further streamlining the US\u2019s ability to rapidly deport asylum seekers before they were able to submit claims on US soil.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The end of the ACA represented what many hoped would be a markedly different approach by the US toward relations with its Latin American neighbor. A far cry from the bellicose rhetoric of walls and travel bans that had come to define the dysfunctional Trump-Morales relationship, the United States\u2019 new approach to Guatemala, summarized in \u201cThe Biden Plan to Build Security and Prosperity in Partnership with the People of Central America,\u201d appeared significantly more inclined to cooperation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, while new lines of negotiation had been drawn up between the two nations, the cornerstone issue of US-Guatemalan relations would remain migration, specifically the illegal immigration of Central Americans into the United States. The Biden administration has been consistently vocal in its desire to stimy the flow of immigrants from Central America by \u201caddressing the root causes of migration.\u201d The grandiose, if vague, strategy proposed to do so consists of a four billion dollar plan meant to address these causes by focusing on the following areas: improving national security capabilities, increasing private investment in Central America, addressing corruption, and reducing poverty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Judged solely by the rhetoric surrounding it, such an initiative should be lauded. The Biden administration, it would seem, seeks to decrease the flow of migrants to the US by creating economic and security conditions in would-be-migrants\u2019 home countries that would alleviate the factors driving migration in the first place. In practice, however, the policy leaves much to desire. Biden administration actions in 2021 toward Central America have thus far shown that either a rethought US policy toward Mexico and Central America has yet to hit its stride, or, more cynically, that the current administration\u2019s policies simply represent an improved approach to domestic public relations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the last decade, the US approach to immigration has increasingly focused on outsourcing border security to its southern neighbors. This innovation in policy showed itself in force in 2014, when the US funded and supported Mexico\u2019s \u201cSouthern Border Program,\u201d with the intent of fortifying Mexico\u2019s southern border against Central American immigrants, further militarizing Mexico\u2019s border patrol and increasing Mexican forces\u2019 apprehension of US bound immigrants by 71% between July 2014 and June 2015. Rather than target the root causes of the issue, recent US policy has focused instead on pushing the policing of migration away from its physical borders and into the sphere of responsibility of Mexico and Central America.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Such an outsourcing of border policing is a critical component of Biden\u2019s Central America plan. During a June 2021 meeting between US Vice-president Kamala Harris and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, Harris pledged to work to strengthen cooperation between the two nations. One of the few concrete commitments to come out of the meeting was an offer by the US to send 16 Department of Homeland Security employees to Guatemala in order to train members of the Guatemalan border patrol to better police their borders against migrants en route to the US. This strategy, as seen in both Mexico and Guatemala, does not seek to solve any factor driving migration, it simply seeks to contain migrants. Tragic scenes of immigrants being confronted by border control agents along the Mexico-US border have consistently been a public relations disaster for US administrations; recent shifts in policy seek only to push these confrontations south, out of sight of the US electorate.<\/span><\/p>\n

In April of 2021, while announcing agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras to further bolster their border security, White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated that \u201cthe objective is to make it more difficult to make the journey, and make crossing the border more difficult.\u201d Leaving no doubt regarding the administration\u2019s strategy to reduce illegal immigration, such frankness certainly stands in contrast to the warm promises of cooperation and solidarity seen in recent US communiques.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the US approach to border security has been straightforward throughout recent months, other components of its plan to \u201cbuild security and prosperity\u201d in Central America remain opaque. The expressed desire to further mobilize private investment is nothing new in the region; the promise of investor-driven development has been a fundamental aspect of the last century\u2019s economic policies that, if anything, have led us to the contemporary crises. Likewise, the critical issue of corruption has been a constant source of discussion between the two nations in 2021, while producing limited response. The revocation of a handful of visas falls short of a legitimate confrontation necessary with structures that allow and encourage systemic corruption.<\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge in developing a consequential political relationship between the US and Guatemala, as well as the rest of Central America, lies in accurately defining the root causes of the disparity that drives migration north and developing cooperative solutions. Of course, this is easier said than done. The cumulative effects of corruption, colonialism, and decades of conflict have entrenched inequalities in the region to the point that the task of uprooting them is a truly monumental undertaking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current US policy has had the primary effect of pushing further violence south, aggravating an already precarious situation. While this may temporarily alleviate direct pressure on the United States, it does not represent a sustainable approach to international relations and will not result in the dissolution of any of the key factors behind forced migrations. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, if the US wishes to find a long-term solution to the migrations it views as such a threat, long-term policies must be put into action that do not simply pass the issue on to the next administration. Perhaps this starts with a more honest look at the root causes behind regional inequalities, and a more earnest assessment of how to strengthen Interamerican cooperation and solidarity. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Henry Bielenberg The early months of 2021 made it possible to feel a bit optimistic regarding evolving relations between the United States and Guatemala. In February, both nations agreed to suspend the Asylum Cooperative Agreement, popularly known as the \u201csafe third country agreement,\u201d bringing to an end an ineffective and unbalanced policy which allowed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[410,453,457],"tags":[3389,3388,3391,3393,3392,3390],"class_list":["post-9279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-frontpage-en","category-migration-en","tag-safe-third-country-agreement","tag-asylum-cooperative-agreement","tag-biden-government","tag-guatemala-estados-unidos-en","tag-immigration-policy","tag-migration-agreements"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/16.png?fit=1280%2C905&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-2pF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12746,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/deportation-disinformation-and-defiance-the-global-impact-of-trumps-immigration-agenda\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":9279,"position":0},"title":"Deportation, disinformation, and defiance: The global impact of Trump\u2019s Immigration agenda","author":"EntreMundos","date":"17 marzo, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"FOR PATRICIA SCHWARTZ Around 60 people are sitting in a circle of folding chairs on a Thursday night in Tucson, Arizona\u2014an American city about an hour from the border with Mexico. The weekly organizing meeting of the Coalicion de Derechos Humanos is being conducted mostly in Spanglish, and attendees are\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/475088469_3067398756762538_3045668992826805668_n.jpg?fit=1100%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/475088469_3067398756762538_3045668992826805668_n.jpg?fit=1100%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/475088469_3067398756762538_3045668992826805668_n.jpg?fit=1100%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/475088469_3067398756762538_3045668992826805668_n.jpg?fit=1100%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/475088469_3067398756762538_3045668992826805668_n.jpg?fit=1100%2C666&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2933,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/2933\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":9279,"position":1},"title":"Bad Blood: Migration and the meat industry","author":"EntreMundos","date":"29 mayo, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Patricia Schwartz and Sean McNulty Before dawn in Quetzaltenango, work had already begun at the slaughterhouse on the edge of town. Cows trucked from the coastal lowlands are lowing in their pens. Vultures stand vigil on the roof. In Iowa, Mercedes Gomez was also up before the sun\u2014clocking in\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abClimate Change\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Climate Change","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/environment\/climate-change\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/emmatadero.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/emmatadero.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/emmatadero.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/emmatadero.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/emmatadero.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3256,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/us-policy-and-the-roots-of-the-migration-crisis\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":9279,"position":2},"title":"US policy and the roots of the migration crisis","author":"EntreMundos","date":"12 agosto, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Migrants board the train La Bestia in Mexico. Photo by Uli Stelzner. By Sara Van Horn Migration to the US has risen steadily since Guatemala\u2019s 36-year armed conflict created hundreds of thousands of refugees. In 2015, a total of 928,000 Guatemalans completed the journey to the Unites States. The most\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abEconomy\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/de-guatemala-a-los-estados-unidos-foto-uli-stelzner.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/de-guatemala-a-los-estados-unidos-foto-uli-stelzner.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/de-guatemala-a-los-estados-unidos-foto-uli-stelzner.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5801,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/being-an-elder-in-guatemala\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":9279,"position":3},"title":"Being an Elder in Guatemala","author":"EntreMundos","date":"2 agosto, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Izela de Le\u00f3n Everyone at some point in time has had some type of relationship with an elderly person. Sometimes these people are our grandmothers and grandfathers and other times, they are someone else's grandparents. Whether they are family or not, we always learn from their experience and they\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Action\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Action","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/people-741431_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2399,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/environment\/climate-change\/climate-change-in-guatemala\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":9279,"position":4},"title":"Climate Change in Guatemala","author":"EntreMundos","date":"7 marzo, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Dr. Edwin Castellanos,\u00a0Co-Director, Center for Environmental Studies and Biodiversity,\u00a0Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, and lead author, UN IPCC Fifth Assessment Report on Climate Change Climate change is without a doubt one of the biggest challenges facing humanity today. We see this in the search for agreements that will limit\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abClimate Change\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Climate Change","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/environment\/climate-change\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/huracan.jpg?fit=461%2C307&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13254,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/smes-migration-and-the-challenge-of-informality-in-guatemala-an-economy-that-resists-from-below\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":9279,"position":5},"title":"SMEs, Migration, and the Challenge of Informality in Guatemala: An Economy that Resists from Below","author":"EntreMundos","date":"17 septiembre, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Alexander Castillo \/ Translated by Emma Porter\u00a0 This article analyzes the crucial role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and migration in the Guatemalan economy. Based on current data, more than 90% of the businesses in the country are small or medium-sized and that remittances represents about 20% of\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9279"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9389,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9279\/revisions\/9389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}