特朗普政府因其移民政策遭到又一场诉讼，美国公民自由联盟(ACLU)因其与中美洲国家签署的广受谴责的“安全第三国”协议而对政府提起诉讼。
在该诉讼于周三提起美国公民自由联盟、国家移民司法中心、性别和难民研究及人权第一中心指责特朗普政府迫使寻求庇护者返回他们逃离的地区，从而危及他们的生命。
特朗普政府的“安全第三国”协议已经让寻求庇护者通过危地马拉抵达美国和墨西哥边境，并被遣送回该国，前提是危地马拉足够安全，他们可以在那里提出要求。美国还与洪都拉斯和萨尔瓦多签署了类似的协议，预计最终将开始向所有三个北三角国家派遣寻求庇护者。
美国公民自由联盟移民权利项目的律师卡特里娜·艾兰德指责特朗普政府有效地创造了“一个致命的音乐椅子游戏，让绝望的难民没有安全的避难所”
艾兰德还认为，“安全第三国”协议违反了美国和国际法。
这位律师说:“政府正非法试图拒绝寻求庇护者，并将责任推卸给其他无法保护他们的国家。”。
权利团体坚持认为，寻求庇护者应该有权在美国提出申请，除非他们可以通过有效的安全第三国协议被送往另一个国家。
他们在一份新闻稿中表示:“然而，为了符合安全条件，国家必须首先提供‘获得确定庇护申请的充分和公平程序的途径’。"这些国家没有达到那个标准。"
在诉讼的中心，U.T. v. Barr，这些是根据美国安全第三国协议在边境被拒绝并被送往危地马拉的寻求庇护者的故事，无论他们是否来自危地马拉。
其中有一个与诉讼同名的美国同性恋者的故事，这名同性恋者仅用他名字的首字母识别，据称在受到一名微软-13集团成员的威胁后逃离萨尔瓦多。
由于担心如果他试图在自己的祖国公开地以同性恋身份生活，会因为他的性取向而遭到攻击或杀害，U.T .经过危地马拉，艰难地前往美国边境，他说他在那里受到了恐同骚扰。
联合国告诉人权组织，一旦他到达美国边境，他被告知将被转移到危地马拉，他说他担心在那里会面临恐同迫害。
诉讼中另一名寻求庇护者M.H .是一名洪都拉斯母亲，她带着年幼的女儿逃到了美国。
她的普通法丈夫和嫂子一直在洪都拉斯从事运输业务，像该国主要城市的许多企业一样，他们面临帮派勒索，被迫支付固定费用才能继续经营。
最终，M.H .告诉人权组织，她的普通法丈夫和嫂子都被谋杀了。
人权组织称，由于担心同样的事情会发生在她和她的女儿身上，M.H .决定逃到美国，“结果却被送回到危险之中”。
2019年10月18日，寻求庇护者在墨西哥下加利福尼亚州蒂华纳的美墨边境的埃尔查帕拉尔过境港外等待与美国当局的约会。特朗普政府正面临一项诉讼，要求寻求庇护者根据其“安全第三国”协议在中美洲提出诉求。吉列尔莫·阿里亚斯/法新社/盖蒂
国家移民司法中心的诉讼律师鲁本·洛约在一份声明中表示:“原告的案件表明特朗普政府对庇护制度的攻击变得多么冷酷无情，以及我们作为一个国家偏离自己价值观的程度有多深。”。
洛约说:“由于这一非法规则和政府对‘安全第三国’标签的不当应用，美国正在对逃离威胁生命的条件的个人关上大门，并将他们送回一个他们无法保证安全的国家。”。“相反，原告和其他寻求庇护者往往别无选择，只能返回他们的祖国，在那里他们将面临进一步的伤害和流离失所。”
在发送给新闻周刊周四，美国海关和边境保护局发言人吉姆·伯恩斯(Jim Burns)表示，作为一项政策，该机构不会对悬而未决的诉讼发表评论。
伯恩斯说:“然而，缺乏评论不应被解释为同意或规定任何指控。”。
ACLU SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR FORCING ASYLUM SEEKERS TO PLAY 'DEADLY GAME OF MUSICAL CHAIRS' WITH 'SAFE THIRD COUNTRY' POLICIES
The Trump administration has been hit with yet another lawsuit over its immigration policies, with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) leading a lawsuit against the government over its widely-condemned "safe third country" agreement with Central American countries.
In the lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday, the ACLU, National Immigrant Justice Center, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies and Human Rights First accuse the Trump administration of putting asylum seekers' lives in danger by forcing them to return to the region they fled.
Already, the Trump administration's "safe third country" deals have seen asylum seekers reaching the U.S.-Mexico border through Guatemala sent back to that nation under the premise that Guatemala is safe enough for them to make their claims there. The U.S. has also signed similar deals with Honduras and El Salvador and is expected to eventually start sending asylum seekers to all three Northern Triangle countries.
Katrina Eiland, an attorney with the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, accused the Trump administration of effectively creating "a deadly game of musical chairs that leaves desperate refugees without a safe haven."
Eiland also argued that the "safe third country" agreements stand in violation of U.S. and international law.
"The administration is illegally trying to turn away asylum seekers and pass the buck to other countries that can't protect them," the attorney said.
Rights groups have maintained that asylum seekers should have the right to file their claims in the U.S. unless they can be sent to another country through a valid safe third country agreement.
"However, the country must first provide 'access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum' in order to qualify as safe," they said in a press release. "These countries fail to meet that standard."
At the center of the lawsuit, U.T. v. Barr, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., are the stories of asylum seekers who have been turned away at the border and sent to Guatemala under the U.S.'s safe third country agreement, regardless of whether they are from there.
Among them is the story of the lawsuit's namesake, U.T., a gay man identified only by his initials, who fled from El Salvador after allegedly being threatened by an MS-13 gang member.
Fearing he would be attacked or killed for his sexual orientation if he tried to live openly as a gay man in his home country, U.T. made the arduous journey to the U.S. border, passing through Guatemala, where he said he was subjected to homophobic harassment.
Once he arrived at the U.S. border, U.T. told rights groups, he was told he was being removed to Guatemala, where he said he fears he will face homophobic persecution.
M.H., another asylum seeker named in the lawsuit, is a Honduran mother who fled to the U.S. with her young daughter in tow.
Her common-law husband and sister-in-law had been working in the transportation business in Honduras, and, like many businesses in the country's major cities, they faced extortion from gangs and were forced to pay a regular fee to continue operating.
Eventually, M.H. told rights groups, both her common-law husband and sister-in-law were murdered.
Fearing the same thing could happen to her and her daughter, M.H. decided to flee to the U.S., "only to be sent back into danger," rights groups said.
Asylum seekers wait for an appointment date with U.S. authorities outside El Chaparral crossing port on the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on October 18, 2019. The Trump administration is facing a lawsuit for forcing asylum seekers to make their claims in Central America under its 'safe third country' agreements.
"The plaintiffs' cases illustrate how callous the Trump administration's attacks on the asylum system have become, and how far we have drifted from our own values as a country," Ruben Loyo, litigation attorney at the National Immigrant Justice Center, said in a statement.
"Because of this illegal rule and the administration's perverted application of the 'safe third country' label, the U.S. is slamming the door on individuals fleeing life-threatening conditions and sending them back to a country where they have no guarantee of safety and security," Loyo said. "Instead, the plaintiffs and other asylum seekers often have no choice but to return to their home country where they are exposed to further harm and displacement."
In a statement sent to Newsweek on Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Jim Burns said that as a matter of policy, the agency would not comment on pending litigation.
"However, lack of comment should not be construed as agreement or stipulation with any of the allegations," Burns said.
