US Deports 2,300 Mexicans to Guatemala and Honduras as Trump Expands Third-Country Removals
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 21
US Deports 2,300 Mexicans to Guatemala and Honduras as Trump Expands Third-Country Removals
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 21
Summary
Guatemala says 2,284 Mexicans deported from the US have arrived there this year, while Honduras has received at least dozens more in a sharp shift from earlier in Trump’s second term.
Mexico’s migration agency said the transfers, used mainly since April, route deportees by plane to Central America and then by bus to southern Mexico to deter them from crossing back into the United States.
Bernardo Arévalo said Guatemala treats the arrivals as 24-hour transit stopovers coordinated with Mexican authorities, with costs paid by Mexico or in some cases by US funding.
Mexico’s foreign ministry said it opposes the practice and is coordinating safe returns, while rights groups warn third-country removals may endanger asylum seekers and could be used to pressure Mexico.
The pattern marks a broader expansion of Trump’s third-country deportation deals across Latin America, after Mexicans had previously been sent almost exclusively straight back to Mexico.