(Reuters) - An agreement that sends people seeking U.S. asylum to instead request refuge in Guatemala could apply to Mexicans and other nationalities as implementation of the deal is ramped up, a senior U.S. official announced on Thursday.

The agreement is aimed at “eliminating the need to make the dangerous journey north and lining the pockets of transnational criminal organizations,” Acting Deputy U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli wrote on Twitter.