Ecuador, Quito
Homeland Security Secretary Christi Noem mentioned to Blaze Media on her final day in South America that Ecuador’s president might consider accepting Venezuelans into the United States illegally.
This week, Noem visited Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador, where she worked to bolster regional cooperation aimed at preventing illegal immigration and crime from impacting North America. During her meeting with President Daniel Noboa at the Palace of Carondelet, she proposed the idea of relocating Venezuelans to a third country.
“We are quite close to finalizing a secure third country contract. He has a program here to allow law-abiding Venezuelans to come in. So I asked him if he might be interested in taking some of them, since we have potentially up to a million undocumented Venezuelans in the U.S. He indicated he would think about it,” Noem elaborated.
“These conversations are crucial. They help propel our efforts forward,” she added.
“We’re thinking creatively about ways to combat these drug cartels and ensure they don’t reach the U.S.,” she noted.
Securing a third-country agreement with Noboa would mark a significant win for the Trump administration, both within the U.S. and across the region, as it applies pressure on other Latin American countries like Brazil and Colombia.
“Strengthening these relationships at their borders only increases the pressure on them. Those conversations are ongoing,” Noem stated.
As a large portion of the cocaine produced in Colombia passes through Ecuador toward the U.S., Noem expressed that the U.S. aims to assist Ecuador in enhancing its border security.
Throughout her South American tour, the Department of Homeland Security initiated a recruitment initiative for U.S. immigration and customs enforcement, taking advantage of a substantial budget to hire more personnel and increase salaries. Noem revealed DHS is looking to employ 1,000 new applicants for ICE. Some of these offers stem from dissatisfaction with the former Biden-Harris administration, which caused many executives to leave ICE.
In Ecuador, Noem also signed an agreement to enable Ecuadorian police to connect with the National Targeting Centre of Customs and Border Protection, which aims to streamline data sharing between the two nations.
