This year, the United States has deported nearly 2,300 Mexican nationals to Guatemala and sent at least several others to Honduras, based on official statistics. This marks a significant change from the early days of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, when such deportations were relatively rare.
Until recently, only a small number of Mexicans had been expelled from the U.S. to destinations other than Mexico, as the country adhered to the principle of non-refoulement, which is both a part of domestic immigration regulations and international agreements. This principle obligates nations not to return migrants to their home countries or third nations where their human rights or lives could be endangered due to factors like race, religion, or nationality.
The National Migration Institute of Mexico (INM) confirmed to The Associated Press in a brief communication that the Trump administration has been deporting Mexicans to Guatemala and Honduras, especially since April, where they are then bused to southern Mexico.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry stated on Thursday, “The Mexican government has voiced its opposition to this practice to U.S. officials and has reiterated that every Mexican citizen has the right to enter the country.”
The movement of migrants through Mexico and across the southern U.S. border has often led to tensions between the two nations. During Trump’s second term, the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also raised concerns over the deaths of 17 Mexicans while in U.S. immigration custody or during enforcement actions.
When questioned about the rationale for sending Mexicans to Central America instead of their home country, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which manages immigration enforcement, stated in an email that the administration “is utilizing all lawful options to execute the largest deportation operation in history, as President Trump promised.”
U.S. accused of exploiting loophole
On Wednesday night, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo announced that, as of this year, 2,284 Mexicans deported from the U.S. have arrived in Guatemala as part of a “transit stopover” before being sent back to Mexico in coordination with Mexican authorities, without these individuals being granted any refugee or asylum status.
“They are arriving on flights alongside Guatemalan returnees, and we are facilitating their transit so that, in cooperation with Mexican immigration authorities, we can return them to Mexico within 24 hours of their arrival,” he stated during a press briefing.
Authorities in Honduras did not provide comments upon request, but based on official documents obtained by The Associated Press, 82 Mexicans deported from the U.S. arrived in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on two flights on August 13 and 15. An additional 35 were reported on Thursday.
Furthermore, from May to mid-July, another 165 Mexicans were sent to Honduras, according to the website Third Country Deportation Watch, operated by the NGOs Human Rights First and Refugees International, which monitor U.S. deportation flights to third nations.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has become a central tool in U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to deport millions of undocumented migrants, but as CBC’s Jonathan Montpetit explains, that’s not what the agency was originally designed to do.
Immigration attorneys argue that the Trump administration is leveraging deportations to third nations as a legal loophole to indirectly compel asylum seekers to return to Mexico when direct deportation would conflict with court orders from immigration judges acknowledging the dangers involved.
Savitri Arvey of Human Rights First remarked, “The deportation strategy appears aimed at pressuring the Mexican government. They are keen on preventing Mexicans from crossing the border.”
At the start of his second term, with a focus on immigration enforcement, Trump negotiated agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama to act as “bridge” or destination nations for migrants from third countries expelled from U.S. territory.
Haiti deportations begin after court ruling
On Thursday, the U.S. deported individuals to Haiti for the first time since winning a legal case at the Supreme Court, while also executing its initial deportation under a deal with Liberia to accept up to 1,200 individuals not originally from that country.
In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court permitted the Trump administration to proceed with terminating the temporary protected status (TPS) program for Haitians and Syrians involved in the current case, a decision that is likely to impact U.S. residents from approximately a dozen countries that received TPS due to fleeing severe violence or catastrophic natural disasters.
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Liberia to begin accepting up to 1,200 deportees from the U.S.
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Haitians in the U.S. brace for deportation as Trump ends their protected status
Jean Negot Bonheur Delva, the director general of Haiti’s National Office of Migration, did not specify how many of the 161 deportees who arrived on Thursday were TPS holders who had been living and working legally in the U.S. Many Haitians have resided in the U.S. since the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake that resulted in over 100,000 fatalities.
Delva mentioned that some of the deportees were not even born in Haiti, despite their Haitian heritage.
In June, the U.S. removed protections that prevented Haitians from being deported. Now, some advocates say Canada needs to rethink its Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. for Haitians seeking asylum.
Activists have cautioned that Haiti is currently too perilous and lacks adequate resources to assist those being deported. More than half of its 12 million residents are in need of humanitarian aid due to escalating gang violence and worsening poverty and hunger.
According to UN statistics, over 3,100 individuals were reported killed from January to June, with an additional 1,189 injured. The U.S. State Department advises against traveling to the Caribbean nation, and there is a suspension on U.S. commercial flights to the main international airport in Port-au-Prince due to safety concerns.
In Liberia, approximately 20 deportees from the U.S. landed at Roberts International Airport near Monrovia. Deportees will include individuals from Africa as well as those from North America, South America, and the Caribbean, according to Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah. Liberian Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh indicated that they may apply for asylum in the West African nation if desired.
The U.S. State Department reaffirmed its “unwavering commitment to ending illegal and mass immigration and enhancing America’s border security.”