Washington (CNN) The first major lawsuit was filed Wednesday challenging the Trump administration's policy of deporting asylum seekers outside of the US, saying people are being placed into extreme danger and are being sent to countries where there is "virtually no chance they will find refuge."

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, DC, was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other human and immigrant rights groups on behalf of two nonprofit organizations and six migrants who were flown to Guatemala after arriving in the US to seek asylum.

"The administration is illegally trying to turn away asylum seekers and pass the buck to other countries that can't protect them," said Katrina Eiland, an attorney with the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project.

Last year, the administration struck accords with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador paving the way for the US to send asylum seekers to the Northern Triangle countries to apply for asylum there. The US, however, has only implemented its agreement with Guatemala.

The accords -- similar to "safe third country" agreements -- marked a significant shift in US asylum policy as migrants who may have a legitimate claim for asylum are sent to another country to make their case. Last November, the US sent the first migrant -- a Honduran man -- to Guatemala as part of the accord.

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