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6d ago

U.S. and Paraguay Sign Safe Third Country Pact to Redirect Asylum Seekers

The pact shifts asylum filing to Paraguay to ease U.S. backlogs, highlighting questions about the country’s capacity to protect migrants.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, left, exchange documents during a Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony with Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Troy Edgar, right, at the State Department, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Washington.
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Overview

  • On August 14 in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano signed a Safe Third Country Agreement requiring asylum seekers in the U.S. to pursue claims in Paraguay.
  • The pact is designed to curb asylum shopping and alleviate pressure on U.S. immigration courts by mandating protection applications in the first safe country entered.
  • U.S. officials presented the deal as part of an expanded security partnership that includes shared counterterrorism efforts and potential collaboration in energy, mining and technology.
  • Rights advocates and legal experts have raised concerns that Paraguay may lack the administrative capacity and safeguards needed to adequately process and protect migrants.
  • Both governments must now operationalize processing centers in Paraguay and establish monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance with international protection standards.