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Secretary Rubio Signs a Protection-Requests Memorandum with Paraguay, Aug. 14, 2025

August 14, 2025 · U.S. Department of State · 0:12:23

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of State Marco Rubio participated in a signing ceremony at the Department of State on August 14, 2025, for a Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in the Examination of Protection Requests, with Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Troy Edgar, according to the State Department broadcast.

Rubio called the signing “another example of cooperation” against illegal and irregular migration, “which poses a national security threat,” and thanked President Santiago Peña as “a great, strong partner and ally of the United States.” Ramírez said the agreement reflects a diversified alliance spanning migration, security, trade and investment, and noted discussion of the Visa Waiver Program. Edgar said the department has been “very focused on establishing safe third country agreements within Latin America, South America, and even in Africa,” called Paraguay “a law enforcement and border security partner,” and said agreements like this one ease the burden of an asylum system he said was “significantly abused in the previous administration.” The three then signed the memorandum.

Why it matters

This is a working piece of the administration’s asylum architecture: a safe-third-country style examination agreement, signed jointly by State and Homeland Security, of the kind the desk’s migration record is built agreement by agreement.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard candidate: the signing itself on August 14, 2025 — a U.S.-Paraguay memorandum on cooperation in the examination of protection requests. Flagged for the scoreboard editor; no entry is published from this page.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Secretary Rubio Participates in a Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony” (official upload, embedded above; Department of State). Remarks as delivered 2025-08-14; transcript reviewed in the site’s private research store; full transcript at state.gov.