SAN DIEGO _ The Trump administration's "safe third party" agreement with Guatemala harms thousands of already vulnerable individuals and violates the U.S. Constitution, according to a letter signed by 22 attorneys general urging the Department of Homeland Security to withdraw the rule.
The agreement, announced in July, states that the U.S. would deny protection to asylum-seekers who did not apply for asylum in Guatemala or Mexico before reaching the U.S.-Mexico border. This restricts Central American asylum-seekers from asking for help at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The letter, which was published Thursday, was co-written by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and co-signed by states that are home to 68% of those who have received asylum in the United States.
Those states include, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. The attorney general of Washington, D.C., also signed the letter.
"The Rule puts vulnerable populations at risk for further persecution in those countries and ignores those countries' lack of fair and functioning asylum systems," the letter states. "Ultimately, this will lead to more immigrants staying in the shadows, as well as bona fide asylum seekers being denied the United States' protection."
The letter references some of President Donald Trump's previous statements claiming asylum-seekers at the southern border were "rapists," MS-13 gang members, and "unknown Middle Easterners," to argue that the policy was motivated by racial hostilities.
"President Trump's history of statements and actions indicating racial animus toward non-white immigrants and Latinos, Latino asylum seekers, and migrants from Central America evidences more than a plausible inference that racial animus was a motivating factor behind the Rule," the letter states.
The letter is addressed to acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and Attorney General William Barr. DHS did not immediately respond for comment.
Initially, Guatemala did not want to be part of the agreement. However, the country signed on after Trump threatened economic sanctions.
After the agreement was signed in July, DHS' website released a joint statement with the U.S. and Guatemala calling it, "important progress on a comprehensive regional approach to addressing irregular migration patterns."
The statement describes the agreement as one of a series of initiatives designed to reduce the flow of "irregular migration and ensure the safety and protection of vulnerable populations, especially children."
The attorneys general's letter claims the policy will have the opposite effect because it will place asylum-seekers at greater risk of danger by forcing them to ask for asylum in the same countries they are fleeing from.
Additionally, the letter argues, Guatemala is ill-suited to offer asylum to the thousands of people at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Guatemala has only 12 officials to work on asylum cases, and three staff members to interview asylum applicants," the letter states. "In addition to the sheer infeasibility of determining asylum cases without sufficient staff, Guatemala would also fail to provide protection to those in need."
The letter points out that Guatemala did not grant a single asylum application of the 259 it received in 2018.
The attorneys general argue that the "safe third party" agreement violated the U.S. Constitution because it discriminates against asylum-seekers based on ethnicity and country of origin.
"The Rule, which applies only to asylum seekers arriving to the United States at the southern border, is unconstitutional because it discriminates against individuals based on their race, ethnicity and national origin in violation of the Fifth Amendment's equal protection principles," they wrote.
