The deal with Mexico has already reaped benefits with an immediate drop in illegal aliens crossing. Now this may do even more.
NEW YORK (AP) — The United States on Friday signed an agreement to help make one of Central America’s most violent countries, El Salvador, a haven for migrants seeking asylum, but provided few details about how it will unfold.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and El Salvador’s foreign minister, Alexandra Hill Tinoco, signed the “cooperative asylum agreement” in a live-streamed press conference. They lauded the two countries for working together to stem migration to the U.S. but provided few details about when the agreement takes effect, who is affected and how.
Instead, McAleenan, who called the agreement “a big step forward,” and Hill Tinoco discussed U.S. assistance in making El Salvador a safer and more prosperous place for its citizens. Hill Tinoco talked about ending gang violence.
“I mean, those individuals threaten people, those individuals kill people, those individuals request for the poorest and most vulnerable population to pay just to cross the street,” she said, adding that her country needs more investment from the U.S. and other nations.