Guatemala Says It Received Nearly 2,300 US-Deported Mexicans

In the first half of 2023, the United States has deported approximately 2,300 Mexicans to Guatemala, a practice the Mexican government opposes. Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo disclosed on Wednesday that 2,284 Mexican deportees have already arrived in his country this year, en route to Mexico as part of an arrangement with Mexico's administration.

These deportees are held in a transit stopover before being transported to Mexico, with transportation costs covered by either Mexico or the United States. On Thursday, Mexico's Foreign Ministry expressed its disagreement with the US practice and emphasized its coordination with involved countries to ensure the safe repatriation of its nationals.

The Mexican government reiterated that every Mexican citizen has the right to enter the country. According to international accords, migrants may be sent to third countries if their home country rejects them or if their return is unsafe. The Trump administration has leveraged third-country deportations, entering bilateral agreements with countries like Mexico to receive migrants from other nations.

Immigration experts believe the US employs this strategy to complicate Mexicans' attempts to cross back into the US. Some Mexicans deported by the US have also been sent to Honduras, with 82 Mexican deportees arriving in the city of San Pedro Sula on two flights last week, and an additional 35 expected on Thursday. Honduras received 165 Mexicans by mid-July, and 37 more were deported from the US to Honduras by mid-August, according to the Third Country Deportation Watch tracker of Human Rights First and Refugees International.

Human Rights First and Refugees International criticize the US government's third-country transfers as an opaque and cruel system, citing thousands of individuals subjected to arbitrary detention, family separations, and chain refoulement in third countries.