The label safe third country has been attached to three different US-Guatemala arrangements since 2019. This page separates them, with the dates and texts published by the US Federal Register, the State Department and Guatemala’s government news agency.
In short: The 2019 Asylum Cooperative Agreement let the US send non-Guatemalan asylum seekers to Guatemala to seek protection there. Transfers stopped in March 2020 and the US suspended the agreement on February 6, 2021. In June 2025 the two governments exchanged notes on the transfer of Central American nationals to Guatemala, with Guatemala considering their protection requests (published July 15, 2025). Guatemala’s migration institute (IGM) reported 3,411 Mexicans received by September 22, 2026 and moved on to Mexico within 24 hours, and, as reported on September 24, 2026, 198 Central Americans, of whom 13 asked Guatemala for protection. None of this applies to Guatemalans, who are returned as nationals.
Three arrangements, side by side
| 2019 Asylum Cooperative Agreement | 2025 exchange of notes | Mexican transit mechanism (2026) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published | Federal Register, Nov 20, 2019 (84 FR 64095) | Federal Register, Jul 15, 2025 (90 FR 31670) | We found no published text; described by IGM and the President |
| Who | Asylum seekers of other nationalities | Nationals of Central American countries | Mexican adults deported from the US |
| What Guatemala does | Receives them to seek protection in Guatemala | Receives them, and considers requests for refugee or equivalent temporary protection | Registers them in transit and hands them to Mexican authorities at the border, within 24 hours |
| Status | Suspended Feb 6, 2021; termination process started | Exchanged; entry into force needs a further exchange of notes (no published date found in the Federal Register searches we ran) | Operating in 2026 per IGM (3,411 people by Sep 22, 2026) |
The legal basis: why a Guatemalan is never the “third country” case
The 2019 interim rule that implements these agreements (DOJ and DHS, effective November 19, 2019) describes section 208(a)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act: a person may be barred from applying for asylum in the US if they can be removed, under a bilateral or multilateral agreement, «to a country (other than the country of the alien’s nationality or, in the case of an alien having no nationality, the country of the alien’s last habitual residence)» where their life or freedom would not be threatened on the protected grounds and where they would have access to a full and fair procedure.
So the agreement is about other nationalities. A Guatemalan in the US who loses a case and is removed goes back as a Guatemalan: see what happens when a deportation flight lands. A Guatemalan’s own asylum case is covered in asylum for Guatemalans in the US.
2019-2021: the first agreement
- Signed and published. DHS published the agreement’s text on November 20, 2019. The published text consists of scanned pages; the Federal Register’s text version carries only the notice.
- Implemented. The interim rule says it puts into effect agreements already negotiated with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
- Paused, then suspended. The State Department’s press statement of February 6, 2021 says the US «has suspended and initiated the process to terminate» the agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, that the suspension was immediate while termination took effect after each agreement’s notice period, and that transfers under the US-Guatemala agreement had been paused since mid-March 2020 because of COVID-19. It adds that the agreements with El Salvador and Honduras were never implemented.
2025: the exchange of diplomatic notes
The notes were published by DHS on July 15, 2025 under the title Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Guatemala Relating to the Transfer of Nationals of Central American Countries to Guatemala. What they contain, from the published pages:
| Element | What the notes say |
|---|---|
| Origin | The US Embassy’s note No. 243 (June 11, 2025) answers a Guatemalan foreign ministry note of February 24, 2025 and proposes the agreement as consistent with it; the ministry accepted on June 13, 2025 |
| Purpose | A dignified, safe and timely transfer of nationals of Central American countries to Guatemala |
| Legal frame | Each side acts in accordance with its international obligations, constitution, laws, regulations, and immigration and visa policies |
| Protection | Includes consideration by Guatemala of those nationals’ requests for refugee or equivalent temporary protection |
| Exit | Either side may end the agreement, or suspend its implementation, with 30 days’ written notice |
| Money | Nothing in it commits either side to disburse or allocate funds |
| Entry into force | Upon a further exchange of notes confirming that each side has completed its domestic steps |
We did not find a published date for that further exchange of notes. Our Federal Register searches (September 24, 2026 for Guatemala asylum-agreement documents since 2025; September 25, 2026 for the phrase «transfer of nationals of Central American countries») returned only the July 15, 2025 notice itself for this agreement.
What has happened on the ground
These figures come from Guatemala’s migration institute (IGM) and the President, as reported by the government news agency AGN and by the press. We have not seen a US government count.
| Date | Report | Source |
|---|---|---|
| October 2025 | IGM announced it had received the first flight of Central American migrants deported from the US: a flight from Dallas with 59 people, 56 Guatemalans and 3 Honduran men; the Hondurans were taken to IGM’s centre for foreign migrants (CAMIEX) to be moved on to Honduras | AP, October 11, 2025 |
| August 20, 2026 | President Arévalo: 2,284 Mexicans deported from the US had arrived in Guatemala in 2026, registered in transit and taken to Mexico in under 24 hours; costs covered by Mexico or, in some cases, the US; Guatemala is not functioning as a safe third country for them | AGN |
| Reported September 24, 2026 | IGM: 3,411 Mexicans received by September 22, 2026 and handed over at the Mexican border; 198 Central Americans (88 Hondurans, 63 Salvadorans, 47 Nicaraguans), 13 of whom asked for international protection in Guatemala, mostly Nicaraguans; the rest were moved on to their countries | AGN via Infobae, September 24, 2026 |
Conditions IGM described for the Mexican transit flights (Infobae, citing AGN): adults only, excluding family units, children and pregnant women; no security alerts, arrest warrants or open asylum cases in the US; IGM gets flight details 48 hours ahead and shares them with Mexico’s consulate. For Central Americans, the same report says a person can ask Guatemala for protection if it is their first asylum request there, and that people with an open case in the US or already recognised as refugees there are excluded.
For Guatemalans in the US: what to take from this
- The agreements do not change a Guatemalan’s own asylum case in the US.
- A relative of another Central American nationality who is removed may be flown to Guatemala first. The reports above describe onward transfer to the home country unless the person asks Guatemala for protection.
Related
- Asylum for Guatemalans in the US
- Family reunification parole for Guatemalans
- What happens when a deportation flight lands
Sources: Federal Register notice 2019-25288 (84 FR 64095, November 20, 2019) and interim final rule 2019-25137 (effective November 19, 2019), read on 24 September 2026; State Department press statement of February 6, 2021 (2021-2025 archive site), read on 24 September 2026; Federal Register notice 2025-13216 (90 FR 31670, July 15, 2025), read on 24 September 2026 from the GovInfo PDF (the notes are scanned images; we transcribed them); AGN, Arévalo aclara que mexicanos deportados pasan por Guatemala en tránsito, no como tercer país seguro (August 20, 2026), Infobae (September 24, 2026, citing AGN and IGM) and AP (October 11, 2025), read on 24 September 2026; Federal Register searches, 24 and 25 September 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the US-Guatemala Asylum Cooperative Agreement?
An agreement under section 208(a)(2)(A) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act that lets the US send certain asylum seekers to a partner country to seek protection there instead of in the US. The US and Guatemala signed one in 2019; DHS published its text in the Federal Register on November 20, 2019 (84 FR 64095), and a DOJ-DHS interim rule to implement such agreements took effect November 19, 2019.
Is the 2019 agreement still in force?
No. On February 6, 2021 the State Department announced that the US had suspended the agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras with immediate effect and started the process to terminate them. It said transfers under the US-Guatemala agreement had been paused since mid-March 2020 because of COVID-19.
Is there a new agreement in 2025?
Yes, a different one. By notes exchanged on June 11 and 13, 2025, published by DHS on July 15, 2025 (90 FR 31670), the two governments agreed on the transfer of nationals of Central American countries to Guatemala, including consideration by Guatemala of their requests for refugee or equivalent temporary protection. Either side can suspend or end it with 30 days’ written notice. The notes say it enters into force after a further exchange of notes confirming domestic steps. A Federal Register search on the notes’ title terms (September 25, 2026) returned only the July 15, 2025 notice itself, so we found no published date for that exchange.
Can a Guatemalan be sent to Guatemala under this agreement?
Not as a third country. The statute these agreements rest on allows removal to a country other than the country of the person’s nationality. A Guatemalan returned to Guatemala is deported to their own country, which is a different process.
Is Guatemala a safe third country?
Guatemala’s government says it is not acting as one. On August 20, 2026 President Bernardo Arévalo said Mexicans deported from the US pass through Guatemala in transit, staying less than 24 hours, and ruled out Guatemala functioning as a safe third country for them (AGN). IGM’s director made the same point about that mechanism in September 2026.
