Thread by @Haleaziz

NEW: The Trump administration on Wednesday began carrying out its controversial plan to deport adults from El Salvador and Honduras who are at the southern border seeking asylum to the US — and send them to Guatemala.

buzzfeednews.com/article/hameda…

Details:

--first phase in El Paso
--adult asylum-seekers from El Salvador and Honduras eligible
--no UACs or families w/ kids under 18
--no consultation before screening w/ asylum officers
--all asylum officers to be trained in a week, suggesting ramp up ahead

“We’re very concerned about how this has been rolled out,” said Michael Knowles, an asylum officer and spokesperson for the National CIS Council 119, the union that represents thousands of US Citizenship and Immigration Services employees worldwide.

Implementation of this agreement, paired with policies that force asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico for the duration of their cases in the US and a rule that bars asylum for ppl who cross through Mexico, nearly closes off US to people fleeing persecution from Central America.

A DHS spox in response to our story:

"Under the law, aliens may be removed from the U.S. according to a bilateral or multilateral agreement so that those who are in need of legitimate and immediate protection can seek protection within the region, closer to home...."

...without taking the dangerous journey. We appreciate the opportunity to clarify a federal statute enacted on a bi-partisan basis over 20 years ago."

Officials say that more than 71 % of those apprehended in the 2019 fiscal year were from Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador.