[Senate Prints 116-57]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



            
116th Congress}                                         { S. Prt.

  2d Session  }        COMMITTEE PRINT   	        { 116-57   

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                             DHS RUN AMOK?

                    A RECKLESS OVERSEAS OPERATION, 
                          VIOLATIONS, AND LIES

                               __________

                        A MINORITY STAFF REPORT

                      PREPARED FOR THE USE OF THE

                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                             SECOND SESSION

                            October 13, 2020

                                     
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
                    
                               __________
                               

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
44-405 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2021                     
          
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                 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS        

                JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho, Chairman        
MARCO RUBIO, Florida                 ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin               BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
CORY GARDNER, Colorado               JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah                    CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware
LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina       TOM UDALL, New Mexico
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming               CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    TIM KAINE, Virginia
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
TODD YOUNG, Indiana                  JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
TED CRUZ, Texas                      CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
DAVID PERDUE, Georgia
                  Christopher M. Socha, Staff Director        
               Jessica Lewis, Democratic Staff Director        
                    John Dutton, Chief Clerk        



                              (ii)        


                           C O N T E N T S

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                                                                   Page

    Letter of Transmittal........................................     v

    Introduction.................................................     1


    State Department Agreemenmt with DHS Prohibited Immigration 
      and Law Enforcement Operations.............................     2


    The Trump Administration's Deployment of U.S. Border Agents 
      to Guatemala...............................................     3


    DHS Participation in Migration Operation at the Guatemala-
      Honduras Border............................................     4


    SFRC Oversight Met with DHS Obfuscation......................     6


    DHS Admitted to Violating its Agreement with the State 
      Department.................................................     6


    Conclusion...................................................     8


    Principal Findings...........................................     8


    Recommendations..............................................     9


    ANNEX A......................................................    11


    ANNEX B......................................................    12
 

                         Letter of Transmittal

                              ----------                              

                              United States Senate,
                            Committee on Foreign Relations,
                                  Washington, DC, October 13, 2020.




    Dear Colleagues:  This explosive report is a painful 
reminder of how President Trump's anti-immigrant agenda has 
overtaken every aspect of this administration's work. Blurring 
the lines between the work of our nation's professional 
diplomatic corps and that of domestic immigration enforcement 
agents is corrosive and wholly unacceptable.
    Months before the Trump administration used similar tactics 
against peaceful protestors in Portland, Oregon, we now know 
DHS secretly used State Department funding to rent unmarked 
vans in Guatemala to haul migrants back to the Guatemala-
Honduras border. In doing so, DHS misused State Department 
funds, violated a written agreement between the two 
departments, and got caught lying about it.
    The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border 
Protection have no business acting as un-deputized 
international migration police throughout Latin America. 
Congress must once again step in to serve as a check on this 
President's unhinged anti-immigrant agenda.''
    Sincerely,


                                           Robert Menendez,
                                                    Ranking Member.

                              Introduction

                              ----------                              

    Since assuming office, President Donald Trump and his 
administration have made curbing irregular migration a near 
singular focus of U.S. foreign policy towards Central America. 
President Trump's fixation on addressing irregular migration 
has undermined the Department of State's traditional role as 
the principal steward of U.S. foreign policy in the region, and 
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has assumed 
unprecedented influence over foreign policy towards Central 
America. This paradigm shift has led to troubling consequences.
    In January 2020, Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) 
Democratic Staff uncovered a disturbing incident in which DHS 
misused State Department funding to carry out an unauthorized 
operation. Specifically, CBP personnel in Guatemala transported 
an unidentified number of Honduran migrants in unmarked vans to 
relocate them to the Guatemala-Honduras border. DHS informed 
SFRC Democratic Staff that DHS personnel used the vans to 
transport migrant women and children, but was unable to clarify 
whether any family members had been separated during the 
operation or whether there was any process to reunify any 
family members that may have been separated. Moreover, the DHS 
operation to transport Honduran migrants was conducted in an 
improvised manner without any protocols in place to address 
security considerations or ensure the personal safety and human 
rights of the migrants. DHS also failed to put in place any 
appropriate screening for individuals seeking asylum or 
international protection.
    The January 2020 incident occurred in a broader context in 
which the Trump administration has repeatedly sought to 
increase the role that DHS plays in Central America. For 
example, when President Trump and Secretary of State Michael 
Pompeo recklessly suspended over $400 million of U.S. foreign 
assistance for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in 2019--a 
decision they claimed was the result of the three countries not 
effectively stopping migrants from reaching the U.S. border--
the administration still rerouted tens of millions of dollars 
from the State Department to DHS programs to improve border 
security and address transnational crime in the region.\1\ In 
April 2020, when Secretary Pompeo announced a restart of U.S. 
foreign assistance for the Northern Triangle and claimed the 
three governments had taken steps to combat migration to the 
United States, he touted that the governments had signed ``14 
historic agreements and arrangements to strengthen cooperation 
to deter illegal immigration.'' \2\ However, these agreements 
had largely been negotiated and signed by DHS, not the State 
Department.
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    \1\ Congressional Research Service (CRS), U.S. Strategy for 
Engagement in Central America: Policy Issues for Congress, at 20, 
updated Nov. 12, 2019; Morgan Ortagus, Department Spokesperson, U.S. 
Department of State, ``Department Press Briefing,'' June 17, 2019.
    \2\ Press Statement, Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State, U.S. 
Department of State, ``United States Continues U.S. Foreign Assistance 
for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras,'' Apr. 13, 2020; U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security, Fact Sheet: DHS Agreements with 
Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador (last visited October 6, 2020).
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    In the January 2020 incident, DHS personnel stationed in 
Guatemala conducted a reckless operation that breached 
restrictions on their funding. Additionally, in response to 
SFRC Democratic Staff inquiries, DHS initially tried to 
obfuscate the violation of its agreement with the State 
Department. Later, DHS acknowledged that its actions violated 
the terms of an interagency agreement between DHS and the State 
Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law 
Enforcement Affairs (INL), constituting a misuse of INL 
funding. In reviewing this incident, SFRC Democratic Staff 
found that:



   DHS violated its interagency agreement with the State 
        Department that explicitly prohibited DHS from 
        conducting operations with INL funding.


   DHS lied to the State Department about how it misused INL 
        funding and caused the State Department to transmit 
        misleading information to Congress.


   DHS' improvised operation lacked protocols related to 
        security, personal safety, human rights, and the 
        screening of migrants for international protection.


   DHS unnecessarily exposed the U.S. Government to potential 
        legal and financial liabilities.


   DHS has assumed unprecedented influence over U.S. bilateral 
        relations with Guatemala, simultaneously imposing its 
        policies on the Guatemalan government and undermining 
        the State Department's traditional role as the 
        principal steward of U.S. foreign policy.



    This report reviews the troubling January 2020 incident and 
makes recommendations for Congress and the State Department to 
prevent similar events in the future.\3\ It also calls on the 
State Department and DHS Inspectors General to thoroughly 
investigate this matter.
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    \3\ As the principal Senate committee with jurisdiction over the 
State Department, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee conducts 
regular oversight over INL programs, as well as INCLE-funded programs 
administered by the other departments and agencies, including DHS.

State Department Agreement with DHS Prohibited
  Immigration and Law Enforcement Operations
    The Secretary of State serves as the principal authority 
responsible for U.S. foreign policy and foreign assistance, and 
the Department of State plays a central coordinating role with 
other U.S. Government departments and agencies that operate 
overseas. U.S. Ambassadors, in their role as chiefs of mission, 
are responsible for overseeing and coordinating all activities 
of the U.S. government in country, including through the 
development of an Integrated Country Strategy. Additionally, 
given the authorities conferred on the Secretary of State in 
his or her administration of U.S. foreign assistance, the 
Department of State may transfer, allocate, or obligate foreign 
assistance funding to other U.S. departments and agencies to 
implement assistance programs in foreign jurisdictions.
    The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement 
Affairs (INL) leads the State Department's efforts to counter 
transnational crime and narcotics trafficking, as well as build 
the capacity of partner governments' criminal justice 
systems.\4\ INL frequently partners with DHS, the Department of 
Justice (DOJ), and other agencies as part of its administration 
of INL assistance programs. INL regularly enters into 
interagency agreements with other U.S. Government departments 
and agencies to finance programs with State Department 
International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) 
funding. In order to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives, 
INL utilizes interagency agreements to specify the purposes for 
which INCLE funding can be used, as well as particular 
limitations, restrictions, and prohibitions on the use of the 
funds.
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    \4\ U.S. Department of State, ``About Us--Bureau of International 
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs,'' https://www.state.gov/about-
us-bureau-of-international-narcotics-and-law-enforcement-affairs/.
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    Under routine circumstances, INL provides INCLE funding to 
DOJ and DHS to provide training to civilian police and border 
authorities in Central America, including technical training to 
improve criminal investigations and routine law enforcement 
inspections, as well as human rights standards.\5\ INL utilizes 
its interagency agreements to prohibit DHS from conducting 
operations with INCLE funding, and the INL-DHS agreement for 
Guatemala included terms that explicitly stated ``U.S. 
personnel under this agreement will not conduct immigration or 
law enforcement operations; they are in country for mentoring, 
advising and capacity-building purposes only.''\6\
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    \5\ Government Accountability Office, ``Central America Police 
Training,'' GAO-18-618, Sept. 5, 2018; Nick Miroff & Kevin Sieff, 
``Trump Administration to send DHS agents, investigators to Guatemala-
Mexico border,'' The Washington Post, May 31, 2019.
    \6\ Annex A.
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    Yet in January 2020, DHS directly violated its interagency 
agreement with INL and misused INCLE assistance when it did 
just that: conducted an overseas immigration operation to 
transport Honduran migrants in the border region of Guatemala.

The Trump Administration's Deployment of U.S. Border
  Agents to Guatemala
    Less than two weeks into January 2020, the year's first 
caravan of Central American migrants amassed in western 
Honduras.\7\ With hundreds of migrants moving towards the 
Guatemalan border on January 15, the stakes were high for 
Guatemala's new president, Alejandro Giammattei. Less than 24 
hours earlier, President Alejandro Giammattei had been sworn 
into office, pledging to combat the challenges of corruption 
and crime that had festered under his predecessor--factors that 
forced tens of thousands of Guatemalans to flee their country 
every year.\8\
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    \7\ Kirk Semple, ``Migrant Caravan Embarks from Honduras, Posing 
Challenge to Region, The New York Times, Jan. 15, 2020.
    \8\ Sofia Menchu and Frank Jack Daniel, ``Turbulent Inauguration 
Day in Guatemala, Outgoing President Hit by Eggs,'' Reuters, Jan. 14, 
2020.
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    Before President Giammattei could formally take office, the 
Trump administration had already made it clear that addressing 
irregular migration in Central America would continue to be its 
number one priority for the U.S.-Guatemala bilateral 
relationship. On January 14, DHS Undersecretary Chad Wolf 
joined Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Guatemala for the new 
president's inauguration.\9\ Before the ceremony, Wolf met 
Giammattei privately to discuss immigration and subsequently 
expressed his public expectations that the two countries would 
continue their ``already strong partnership to reduce illegal 
immigration to the United States.''\10\
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    \9\ Press Release, U.S. Department of Commerce, ``Secretary of 
Commerce Leads U.S. Delegation to Guatemala,'' Jan. 15, 2020.
    \10\ Press Release, U.S. Department of Commerce, ``Secretary of 
Commerce Leads U.S. Delegation to Guatemala,'' Jan. 15, 2020; Sofia 
Menchu and Frank Jack Daniel, ``Turbulent Inauguration Day in 
Guatemala, Outgoing President Hit by Eggs,'' Reuters, , Jan. 14, 2020.
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    Upon returning to Washington, Wolf expressed confidence in 
a Fox Radio interview that the Trump administration had 
established enough obstacles to prevent members of the migrant 
caravan from reaching the U.S. border or pursuing asylum claims 
in the United States, despite U.S. laws guaranteeing the right 
to seek asylum.\11\ Wolf asserted in his interview, ``[w]hat 
has changed from 2018 or even from last year are the number of 
agreements that we have in place with Honduras, Guatemala, as 
well as Mexico.''\12\ To reinforce the Trump administration's 
aggressive stance, he stated, ``[w]e have CBP agents--tactical 
agents--in Guatemala.''\13\
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    \11\ Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Department of Homeland 
Security, Interview with Brian Kilmeade, The Brian Kilmeade Show, Fox 
News, Jan. 16, 2020. The right to seek asylum in the United States is 
codified under the United States Refugee Act of 1980, P.L. 96-212, 8 
U.S.C. Sec. 1158.
    \12\ Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Department of Homeland 
Security, Interview with Brian Kilmeade, The Brian Kilmeade Show, Fox 
News, Jan. 16, 2020. For information about the agreements, see U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security, Fact Sheet: DHS Agreements with 
Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/
default/files/publications/19--1028--opa--factsheet-northern-central-
america-agreements--v2.pdf.
    \13\ Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Department of Homeland 
Security, Interview with Brian Kilmeade, The Brian Kilmeade Show, Fox 
News, Jan. 16, 2020.
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    As Guatemalan authorities prepared to respond to the surge 
of Honduran migrants crossing the border, Wolf's comments about 
the deployment of ``tactical agents'' alluded to an 
unauthorized DHS operation conducted by Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) personnel in the country.

DHS Participation in Migration Operation at the
  Guatemala-Honduras Border
    On January 15, as the first migrant caravan of 2020 moved 
across the border from Honduras into Guatemala, officers from 
the Guatemalan border police--the Division of Ports, Airports, 
and Border Crossings (Division de Puertos, Aeropuertos y 
Puestos Fronterizos, DIPAFRONT)--responded.\14\ Guatemala has 
long been a source and transit country for irregular migration, 
and the phenomenon of migrant caravans gained widespread 
international attention in 2018 when thousands of Hondurans 
crossed Guatemala en route to the United States.\15\ With 
hundreds of migrants arriving on January 15, DIPAFRONT 
personnel mounted their response near the Corinto crossing at 
the Guatemala-Honduran border.
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    \14\ ``US Agents Aid in Guatemalan Crackdown on Hundreds of 
Migrants Headed North,'' The Guardian, Jan. 16, 2020. While reporting 
by The Guardian indicated the presence of DHS Immigrations and Custom 
Enforcement (ICE) personnel at the Guatemala-Honduras border, DHS later 
clarified to SFRC Democratic Staff that the personnel had been from 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
    \15\ Dara Lind, ``The Migrant Caravan, Explained,'' Vox, updated 
Oct. 25, 2018.
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    However, in a break from past practice, DHS personnel 
deployed to the border and actively participated in joint 
operations with DIPAFRONT.\16\ Press reports indicated that CBP 
personnel assumed a direct role in preventing the migrant 
caravan from transiting Guatemala.\17\ The State Department and 
DHS later confirmed that CBP personnel participating in the 
operation had overstepped the authority of their authorized 
training activities.\18\ DIPRAFRONT and DHS personnel stopped 
hundreds of Honduran migrants after they crossed the border and 
later bussed them to border facilities for processing.\19\ 
According to Guatemalan officers on the ground, ``the United 
States paid for the buses.''\20\
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    \16\ ``US Agents Aid in Guatemalan Crackdown on Hundreds of 
Migrants Headed North,'' The Guardian, Jan. 16, 2020; Sonia Perez, 
``Guatemala Deporta a un Grupo de la Caravana de Migrantes a 
Honduras,'' Telemundo Houston, Jan. 15, 2020.
    \17\ Sonia Perez, ``Guatemala Deporta a un Grupo de la Caravana de 
Migrantes a Honduras,'' Telemundo Houston, Jan. 15, 2020; ``US Agents 
Aid in Guatemalan Crackdown on Hundreds of Migrants Headed North,'' The 
Guardian, Jan. 16, 2020.
    \18\ U.S. Department of State and Department of Homeland Security 
Officials, Meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff, 
Washington, DC, Jan. 30, 2020.
    \19\ 19 ``US Agents Aid in Guatemalan Crackdown on Hundreds of 
Migrants Headed North,'' The Guardian, Jan. 16, 2020.
    \20\ Id.
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    DHS eventually confirmed that CBP personnel present in 
eastern Guatemala commissioned unmarked vehicles and contracted 
drivers to support its joint operations with DIPRAFRONT.\21\ 
CBP and DIPRAFRONT loaded an untold number of Honduran migrants 
into unmarked vans and drove them back to the Guatemala-
Honduras border. It remains unclear whether the Honduran 
migrants were provided with any information about the role of 
the United States Government when they were taken into custody 
and placed into vans that did not bear the logo of DHS, CBP, or 
DIPRAFRONT. It is also unclear if the Honduran migrants were 
provided with any information about their rights in Guatemala 
as they were loaded into the unmarked vehicles commissioned by 
CBP.\22\ Additionally, CBP's operation to transport Honduran 
migrants was carried out in an entirely improvised manner. 
There were no protocols put in place to ensure operational 
security or the personal safety and human rights of Honduran 
migrants that were transported by DHS.\23\
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    \21\ See Annex B.
    \22\ In a meeting with SFRC Democratic Staff, DHS was not able to 
provide any specificity about the number of Honduran migrants 
transported by CBP during its joint operation with DIPRAFRONT, any 
evidence that CBP or DIPRAFRONT personnel had informed the Honduran 
migrants they were being transported on vehicles commissioned by CBP, 
or any evidence that CBP or DIPRAFRONT personnel had informed the 
Honduran migrants of their rights in the Guatemalan legal system. U.S. 
Department of State and Department of Homeland Security Officials, 
Meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff, Washington, DC, 
Jan. 30, 2020.
    \23\ DHS was not able to provide any evidence that it had protocols 
in place to ensure the security of the vehicles or drivers, or any 
screening and security processes in place to ensure the personal safety 
of the migrants transported in the vans. Id.
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    As would become apparent in the ensuing weeks, the 
deployment of CBP agents to the Guatemalan border for joint 
operations with DIPAFRONT constituted a direct violation of its 
interagency agreement with the State Department and one that 
exposed the U.S. Government to potential legal and financial 
liabilities.

SFRC Oversight Met with DHS Obfuscation
    On January 21, SFRC Democratic Staff submitted written 
questions to the Department of State regarding the press 
accounts of the events that took place at the Guatemala-
Honduras border. Given the concerning nature of the media 
reports that DHS personnel were participating in joint 
operations with DIPRAFRONT, SFRC Democratic Staff specifically 
asked the State Department to confirm if DHS participated in 
operations to transport Honduran migrants in Guatemala and 
whether any State Department funding was utilized to support 
DHS participation in any such operations. SFRC Democratic Staff 
also asked the State Department to confirm if any of the 
Honduran migrants were provided with access to asylum 
screening, specifically given that, prior to the Asylum 
Cooperative Agreement entering into force on November 15, 2019, 
DHS and DOJ had certified that the Guatemalan asylum system is 
capable of providing migrants with a full and fair asylum 
process.\24\
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    \24\ See Annex A.
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    On January 22, the Department of State transmitted written 
responses to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding 
DHS operations in Guatemala. The State Department's responses 
indicated that, ``DHS has informed INL that they did not 
participate in the action of bussing Honduran migrants from 
Guatemala back to the Honduran border or their country of 
origin.''\25\ The State Department also noted that, ``INL is 
not aware any INL funding was utilized to pay for operations in 
Guatemala to return Honduran migrants back to the Honduran 
border or their country of origin.''\26\
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    \25\ Annex A.
    \26\ Id.
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    Additionally, the State Department responses reaffirmed 
that ``INL's interagency agreement with DHS in Guatemala 
clearly specifies U.S. personnel under this agreement will not 
conduct immigration or law enforcement operations; they are in 
country for mentoring, advising and capacity-building purposes 
only.''\27\ However, as would soon become apparent, DHS had 
lied to the State Department in order to cover up its role in 
the joint operations with Guatemalan authorities. In doing so, 
DHS caused the State Department to transmit misleading 
information to Congress.
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    \27\ Id.

DHS Admitted to Violating its Agreement with
  the State Department
    On January 30, 2020, the State Department submitted revised 
responses to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee--
information that would correct the falsehoods advanced by DHS 
the week prior. Acknowledging that the ``information previously 
provided was not accurate,'' the State Department provided new 
details that it had received from DHS.\28\
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    \28\ See Annex B.
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    In violation of the terms of its interagency agreement with 
INL, DHS acknowledged that it had used State Department INCLE 
funding from fiscal year 2017 to conduct its joint operations 
with DIPRAFRONT.\29\ Specifically, DHS admitted that INCLE 
funding ``previously utilized to rent three 12-passenger vans 
and drivers to transport personnel and equipment was 
subsequently used to return Honduran migrants back to the 
Guatemalan-Honduran border.''\30\
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    \29\ See Annex B.
    \30\ See Id.
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    That same day, senior officials from the State Department 
and DHS met with SFRC Democratic Staff to provide additional 
clarifications regarding the false information transmitted on 
January 22, 2020. When SFRC Democratic Staff raised questions 
about the provision of the INL-DHS interagency agreement that 
prohibited immigration and law enforcement operations, DHS 
acknowledged that the joint operation with DIPRAFRONT violated 
the terms of the agreement.\31\ In recognition of the gravity 
of the transgressions committed, DHS stated that it had 
curtailed the assignment of the personnel in Guatemala who 
authorized the joint operation and that the individual would be 
returning to Washington immediately.\32\
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    \31\ U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security Officials, Meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
Staff, Washington, DC, Jan. 30, 2020.
    \32\ Id.
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    Additionally, DHS confirmed that the vans rented with INCLE 
funding had been used to transport migrant women and children 
separately from men.\33\ However, DHS was unable to provide 
information as to whether any family members had been separated 
during their operation, whether any children were 
unaccompanied, whether there was any process to reunify family 
members who may have been separated, or whether Guatemalan 
authorities ensured migrants had access to asylum screening 
prior to being returned to Honduras.\34\
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    \33\ Id.
    \34\ Id.
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    By its own admission, DHS took few precautions to ensure 
that the human rights of migrants--particularly refugees, 
asylum seekers, and children--subject to their operation were 
upheld. This unsettling admission leaves open the possibility 
that DHS may have contributed to new incidents of family 
separation, facilitated the forcible return of refugees, or 
otherwise added to the protection risks faced by asylum seekers 
and other vulnerable migrants. In failing to develop 
appropriate screening protocols for the Honduran migrants, the 
DHS operation exposed the U.S. Government to possible 
complicity in any potential violation of the principle of non-
refoulement enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 
1967 Protocol, as well as the 1984 Convention Against Torture, 
which both Guatemala and the United States are required to 
uphold.
    SFRC Democratic Staff also raised concerns about the 
potential legal and financial liabilities that theU.S. 
Government would have faced if any of the vehicles rented by 
DHS would have been in an auto accident while transporting 
Honduran migrants in Guatemala or if the driver or the 
passengers had been injured. In recognition of the seriousness 
of the unnecessary risks that had been incurred by DHS 
participation in joint operations with DIPRAFRONT, the State 
Department acknowledged that the U.S. Government potentially 
would have faced significant liabilities.

Conclusion
    The DHS breach of its interagency agreement with the State 
Department and initial effort to obfuscate the violation must 
be seen in the broader context of the Trump administration's 
failed track record of coercive policies toward Central 
America. To advance President Trump's narrow goals, his 
administration has resorted to a wide range of aggressive 
tactics.
    The Trump administration has threatened visa sanctions 
against countries unable to receive deportation flights during 
the current COVID-19 pandemic, even following reports which 
confirmed that the U.S. had deported individuals to Guatemala 
who tested positive for COVID-19.\35\ In March 2019, the Trump 
administration suspended over $500 million in U.S. foreign 
assistance aimed at addressing the root causes of irregular 
migration because it felt that Central American governments 
were not doing enough to prevent their citizens from 
leaving.\36\ And, the Trump administration has forced 
governments in the Northern Triangle of Central America--El 
Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras--to sign a series of asylum-
related agreements that not one of the governments can 
implement responsibly.\37\
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    \35\ President Donald J. Trump, Memorandum on Visa Sanctions, The 
White House, Apr. 10, 2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-
actions/memorandum-visa-sanctions/; Yael Schacher and Rachel Schmidtke, 
``Harmful Returns: The Compound Vulnerabilities of Returned Guatemalans 
in the Time of COVID-19,'' Refugees International, June 23, 2020.
    \36\ Congressional Research Service, U.S. Strategy for Engagement 
in Central America: Policy Issues for Congress, at 20, updated Nov. 12, 
2019.
    \37\ Rachel Schmidtke et al., ``Deportation with a Layover: Failure 
of Protection Under the U.S.-Guatemala Asylum Cooperative Agreement,'' 
Refugees International, May 19, 2020; U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security, Fact Sheet: DHS Agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, and El 
Salvador, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19--
1028--opa--factsheet-northern-central-america-agreements--v2.pdf.
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    Such aggressive tactics have damaged United States standing 
in the Northern Triangle and, on May 21, 2020, led President of 
Giammattei to remark that, ``I don't believe the U.S. is an 
ally to Guatemala, because they don't treat us like one.''\38\ 
The continuation of this trend threatens to undermine U.S. 
national security interests in Central America, and must be 
reversed.
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    \38\ Rafael Bernal, ``Guatemalan president: `I don't believe the 
U.S. is an ally to Guatemala,' '' The Hill, May 21, 2020.


Principal Findings
   DHS violated its interagency agreement with the State 
        Department. The INL-DHS interagency agreement included 
        terms that established that, ``U.S. personnel under 
        this agreement will not conduct immigration or law 
        enforcement operations; they are in country for 
        mentoring, advising and capacity-building purposes 
        only.''\39\ Nevertheless, DHS personnel actively 
        participated in joint operations with Guatemalan border 
        police to transport Honduran migrants back to the 
        Guatemala-Honduras border. DHS personnel acknowledged 
        that this was an explicit violation of the INL-DHS 
        interagency agreement.\40\
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    \39\ See Annex A.
    \40\ U.S. Department of State and Department of Homeland Security 
Officials, Meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff, 
Washington, DC, Jan. 30, 2020.


   DHS lied to the State Department about how it misused INCLE 
        funding and caused the State Department to transmit 
        misleading information to Congress. In written answers 
        submitted to SFRC Democratic Staff on January 22, the 
        State Department noted that ``DHS has informed INL that 
        they did not participate in the action of bussing 
        Honduran migrants from Guatemala back to the Honduran 
        border or their country of origin.''\41\ Despite 
        initial attempts at obfuscation, DHS subsequently 
        corrected that assertion and acknowledged that it had 
        misused INCLE funding for purposes explicitly 
        prohibited in the INL-DHS interagency agreement.
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    \41\ Id.


   DHS operated without security and human rights safeguards. 
        DHS transported Honduran migrants to the Guatemala-
        Honduras border without any protocols in place to 
        ensure the security of the unmarked vans that it rented 
        or the safety of the drivers and passengers. It also 
        operated without any assurances or procedures in place 
        to prevent the forcible return of refugees or 
        individuals fearing torture, risking U.S. complicity in 
        any potential violation of the principle of non-
        refoulement enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention 
        and its 1967 Protocol, as well as the 1984 Convention 
        Against Torture, which both Guatemala and the United 
        States are required to uphold. Additionally, DHS' 
        actions may have contributed to new incidents of family 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        separation.


   DHS exposed the U.S. Government to potential legal and 
        financial liabilities. By conducting prohibited joint 
        operations with Guatemalan border police, DHS personnel 
        unnecessarily exposed the U.S. government to potential 
        legal and financial liabilities. By transporting 
        Honduran migrants inside Guatemala, DHS ran the risk of 
        a potential automobile accident and related personal 
        injuries, which would have exposed the U.S. Government 
        to potential legal and financial liabilities, as well 
        as significant political and reputational damages.


Recommendations
 1. The State Department and DHS Inspectors General should 
        investigate violations of the INL interagency agreement 
        and misuse of INCLE funds. DHS participation in joint 
        operations with Guatemalan migration authorities 
        explicitly violated the terms of the INL-DHS 
        interagency agreement, which stated that, ``U.S. 
        personnel under this agreement will not conduct 
        immigration or law enforcement operations.''\42\ The 
        State Department and DHS Inspectors General should 
        examine how DHS personnel violated the terms of the 
        interagency agreement and misused INCLE funds for 
        activities that were specifically prohibited, as well 
        as if other similar violations may have occurred in 
        Central America and Mexico.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \42\ Id.


 2. Congress must reform INCLE authorities. Congress must 
        reform the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) to prevent the 
        State Department's International Narcotics and Law 
        Enforcement (INCLE) funding from being used for anti-
        immigration operations overseas. Specifically, Congress 
        must amend Section 481 of the FAA (22 U.S.C. Sec. 2291) 
        to expressly prohibit joint operations with foreign 
        government migration and border authorities. Pending 
        such reform, Congress should place similar restrictions 
        in appropriations bills to prohibit use of INCLE 
        funding in immigration operations in foreign 
        jurisdictions. Such legal prohibitions would strengthen 
        policy restrictions placed by the State Department in 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        the INL-DHS interagency agreement.


 3. The State Department must implement comprehensive 
        mitigation measures. Following SFRC Democratic Staff 
        raising concerns about this incident, State Department 
        and DHS agreed to a series of measures to mitigate 
        against future misuse of INCLE funds in Guatemala, 
        including an increased frequency of coordination 
        meetings, additional financial reporting, and an 
        explicit requirement that only U.S. Government 
        personnel are able to enter any vehicle rented with 
        INCLE funds. To prevent similar events occurring 
        elsewhere in the region, it is essential that these 
        changes be standardized for all INL-DHS interagency 
        agreements related to Mexico and Central America.


 4. The State Department must reclaim its leadership of U.S. 
        foreign policy. Despite the Trump administration's 
        singular fixation on addressing irregular migration in 
        Central America, the State Department must reassert its 
        role as the principal steward of U.S. foreign policy in 
        the region. U.S. Ambassadors in Central America and 
        Mexico must reassert their authority for overseeing and 
        coordinating the activities of all U.S. government 
        agencies in the country, specifically DHS. DHS misuse 
        of INCLE funds in Guatemala showed that DHS officials 
        are willing to place their own operational decisions 
        above the limitations and prohibitions in their 
        interagency agreements with the State Department. DHS 
        must return to its traditional role of solely providing 
        training and technical assistance to foreign 
        counterparts.

                                ANNEX A

                              ----------                              


                       INL Response to Questions
                         by Brandon Yoder \43\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \43\ This information was transmitted to the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee by the Department of State on Jan. 22, 2020. Email 
from the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of State, to 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff, Jan. 22, 2020.



    Question 1. Is INL aware of whether DHS/ICE (or any other 
part of DHS) participated in bussing Honduran migrants from 
Guatemala back to the Honduran border or their country of 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
origin?

    Response. DHS has informed INL that they did not 
participate in the action of bussing Honduran migrants from 
Guatemala back to the Honduran border or their country of 
origin.



    Question 2. Was any INL funding (regardless of fiscal year) 
utilized to pay for operations in Guatemala to return Honduran 
migrants back to the Honduran border or their country of 
origin? If so, please detail all related funding, including the 
source of funds/account, fiscal year(s), awardee(s), funding 
amounts, and a brief description of each award.

    Response. No. INL is not aware any INL funding was utilized 
to pay for operations in Guatemala to return Honduran migrants 
back to the Honduran border or their country of origin. INL's 
interagency agreement with DHS in Guatemala clearly specifies 
U.S. personnel under this agreement will not conduct 
immigration or law enforcement operations; they are in country 
for mentoring, advising and capacity-building purposes only.



    Question 3. In the event that INCLE (or any other funding) 
was used to support the operations described above, please cite 
the specific funding authority utilized to carry out these 
operations.

    Response. INL is not aware any INL funding was used to 
support the bussing Honduran migrants from Guatemala back to 
the Honduran border or their country of origin.
    Separately, the Department's Bureau of Population, 
Refugees, and Migration (PRM) provides financial support for 
the International Organization for Migration (IOM)'s Assisted 
Voluntary Return (AVR) program operating in Mexico and several 
Central American countries, including Guatemala. IOM's AVR 
program provides a safe, humane, voluntary means for migrants 
in those countries to return to their home countries, if they 
wish to do so.



    Question 4. Given that DHS/DOJ recently certified that the 
Guatemalan asylum system is capable of providing migrants with 
a full and fair asylum process, were any of the migrants 
returned under the operations described above provided with 
access to an asylum screening?

    Response. DHS has informed INL that they did not support 
the bussing of Honduran migrants from Guatemala back to the 
Honduran border or their country of origin.



                                ANNEX B

                              ----------                              


                   INL Revised Responses to Questions
                         by Brandon Yoder \44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \44\ This information was transmitted to the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee by the Department of State on Jan. 30, 2020. Email 
from the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of State, to 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff, Jan. 30, 2020.



    Question 1. Is INL aware of whether DHS/ICE (or any other 
part of DHS) participated in bussing Honduran migrants from 
Guatemala back to the Honduran border or their country of 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
origin?

    Response. Since the Department of State's January 22 
response to you, we learned the information previously provided 
was not accurate. DHS informed INL January 23 that FY 17 INCLE 
funding previously utilized to rent three 12-passenger vans and 
drivers to transport personnel and equipment was subsequently 
used to return Honduran migrants back to the Guatemalan-
Honduran border.



    Question 2. Was any INL funding (regardless of fiscal year) 
utilized to pay for operations in Guatemala to return Honduran 
migrants back to the Honduran border or their country of 
origin? If so, please detail all related funding, including the 
source of funds/account, fiscal year(s), awardee(s), funding 
amounts, and a brief description of each award.

    Response. Yes. DHS informed INL January 23 that FY 17 INCLE 
funding was utilized to rent three 12-passenger vans and 
drivers to transport personnel and equipment and then 
subsequently used to transport Honduran migrants back to the 
Honduran border.



    Question 3. In the event that INCLE (or any other funding) 
was used to support the operations described above, please cite 
the specific funding authority utilized to carry out these 
operations.

    Response. The Guatemala Assistance on Irregular Migration 
(GAIM) program is funded through an interagency agreement 
between INL and DHS with FY 17 INCLE funding.



     Question 4. Given that DHS/DOJ recently certified that the 
Guatemalan asylum system is capable of providing migrants with 
a full and fair asylum process, were any of the migrants 
returned under the operations described above provided with 
access to an asylum screening?

    Response. DHS informed INL they are unaware whether the 
Honduran migrants transported back to Honduras requested asylum 
in Guatemala.

                                  [all]