(Washington D.C.)- Representative Mace unveiled the "Northern Triangle Asylum Cooperative Agreement Reimplementation Act" to combat the escalating invasion at our southern border. This bill has been cosponsored by Reps. Lance Gooden (R-TX-05) and Matt Rosendale (R-MT-02).

The Trump administration entered into Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACAs) with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras - allowing DHS to send asylum seekers to these safe third countries and bar them from seeking asylum in the United States. Along with the Remain in Mexico policy, these ACAs are one of the most effective tools to address the crisis at our Southern border.

Within a month of taking office, the current administration suspended these agreements and subsequently terminated them. This legislation would prohibit the administration from providing foreign aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras unless they re-enter into these Asylum Cooperative Agreements. Under this legislation, if the administration, or these nations, refuse to re-enter into these bilateral agreements, foreign aid to these nations would immediately be halted.

The ACAs will offer a deterrent to illegal immigration, and allow the asylum seekers flooding our southern border to be sent to seek asylum in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This represents a truly regional approach to irregular migration, where countries in Central America share the economic and societal burden of this crisis.

Specifically, this legislation would:

• Condition bilateral economic assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras on their cooperation with asylum claims through ACAs, targeting the root causes of illegal immigration.
• Require certifications for agreements with the U.S. on ACAs, fostering cooperation and a truly regional approach to managing asylum.
• Mandate regular recertifications every 180 days, to ensure these ACAs remain in effect.
• Require the current administration to implement these agreements in accordance with Trump-era rulemaking.

"The 'Northern Triangle Asylum Cooperative Agreement Reimplementation Act' is a statement of resolve to secure our borders and uphold the integrity of our asylum system and remedy one of the many failed border policies brought by this administration," said Rep. Nancy Mace.

"If a country is not willing to help us protect our sovereignty, American taxpayers should not be funding their prosperity," said Rep. Rosendale. "When the ACAs were originally written as immigration restricting measures, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras agreed to assist us in managing our border crisis. Now that Biden has shredded these agreements, the aid promised should not continue to be delivered."

"The asylum cooperative agreements the United States had in place with Northern Triangle countries from 2019 to 2021 helped bring stability to the U.S. border. When the Biden Administration canceled those agreements, along with other successful border measures, it created the surge that has continued unabated since early 2021. We're thankful to Representative Mace for the Northern Triangle Asylum Cooperative Agreement Reimplementation Act, which would go a long way to restoring integrity to the asylum system and mitigate the border crisis." said Grant Newman, the Director of Federal Government Relations for NumbersUSA.

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