The U.S. Could Send Mexican Asylum Seekers to Guatemala

Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: The United States could transfer Mexican asylum seekers to Guatemala, France’s unions pledge to keep striking in the new year, and Australia’s prime minister faces criticism over devastating bushfires.

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Beginning with a flight to Guadalajara on Thursday, the United States has started repatriating Mexican deportees to Mexico’s interior. It is the latest move in the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape migration policy and reduce the number of people crossing the southern U.S. border. Immigration shelters in Guadalajara were informed in advance of a likely increase in deportees, Reuters reports.

Mexicans who have applied for asylum in the United States could be transferred to Guatemala, according to a senior U.S. official. They would fall under an agreement that allows the United States to send asylum seekers to the Central American country, despite the fact that conditions there are not much better than the ones they are fleeing. Many asylum seekers sent to Guatemala from the United States have chosen to return to their home countries.

Why now? Fewer Central Americans are attempting to cross the border, leading authorities to focus on Mexican migrants—who often travel to the United States alone rather than in families. A Department of Homeland Security official told Reuters that the deportations were likely to increase over the next few weeks, while the Mexican foreign ministry said they would become regular in January. Cracking down on migration has been a priority for U.S. President Donald Trump, and he has focused on the issue during his campaign for re-election in 2020.

Will it work? The Trump administration’s migration policies—particularly forcing asylum seekers to await decisions in Mexico—has deterred Central American migrants from crossing the border, and the number of Mexican adults detained at the border has already decreased in 2019. Still, smuggling networks have adapted—despite Mexico’s own crackdown, the Associated Press reports.

French strikes won’t stop before Christmas. After talks with the government on Thursday ended without resolution over proposed pension reforms, France’s unions have said that transport strikes will continue, though they could ease up over the winter holidays—when millions rely on the rail system to travel around the country. Still, the unions have already planned renewed strikes and protests in January against the plans to increase the retirement age. Meanwhile, commuters have been finding other ways to get to work: Scooter rental companies in Paris report they have had a surge in customers.

Australia’s bushfires force PM to apologize. Two firefighters have died fighting bushfires in Australia, forcing Prime Minister Scott Morrison to offer a rare public apology on Friday and cut short his family vacation in Hawaii. “I deeply regret any offense caused to any of the many Australians affected by the terrible bushfires by my taking leave with my family at this time,” he said. The blazes, exacerbated by record high temperatures and an ongoing drought, have ravaged Australia’s east coast and fueled pollution in Sydney for days. Morrison has been accused by critics of undermining Australia’s climate change commitments.

Three killed at Russia’s spy headquarters. As many as three people were killed, including some employees of Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB), after a person opened fire near the agency’s headquarters on Thursday. The shooting was unusual: The FSB headquarters is located near many other government buildings and is under heavy security. The attack came after Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an annual TV news conference and as he was delivering another speech in the nearby Kremlin.

A vote in Britain’s Parliament. British lawmakers will vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal today, as he promised after his major election victory last week. With the Conservatives’ large majority, the bill isn’t likely to face much opposition in Parliament. For Johnson, holding the vote this week is largely symbolic: If passed, the Brexit deal will be ratified after Christmas. Britain is set to leave the European Union on Jan. 31.

Chile’s constitutional reform. On Thursday, Chile’s Congress approved a plan to hold a referendum next year to reform the country’s constitution, which dates to the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Changing the constitution is a key demand of protesters who have been in the streets for the last eight weeks. A poll held last month found that 82 percent of Chileans think the country needs a new constitution. In November, John Bartlett explained in FP what Chileans are seeking in a new constitution.

Lebanon’s new prime minister. Lebanon’s president appointed Hassan Diab, a professor and former education minister backed by Hezbollah, as prime minister on Thursday. Diab is tasked with forming a government amid mass protests against the country’s ruling elite. He could face difficulty: Diab has failed to win the support of Lebanon’s Sunni leaders, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned last month.

Police in Italy have arrested more than 300 people in what is said to be the second largest mafia crackdown in the country’s history. Around 2,500 police officers took part in the bust, focused primarily on the city of Vibo Valentia in southern Italy. Those arrested—after a three-year-investigation—include politicians and police.

That’s it for today.

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