In 2024, approximately 66,000 people were deported from the United States to Guatemala. Under Trump, that number is expected to increase.
The Central American country in Guatemala has agreed to increase the number of deportation flights it receives from the United States after a visit from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
At a press conference Wednesday, Guatemala President Bernardo Arevalo announced that his country would accept non-citizens sent from the United States.
“We have agreed to increase the number of flights for deportees of both nationalities and nationalities of other nationalities by 40%,” said Arevaro, who appeared in collaboration with Rubio.
This is not the first time Guatemala has accepted a deportation flight from the United States. That was also done under the previous administration of US President Joe Biden.
However, current president Trump has been a big campaign to imprint irregular migrations to the United States, and since taking office on January 20th, he has been involved in his efforts in countries around the region. I’ve put pressure on him to do so.
Guatemalan officials, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, told news agency Reuters that under Biden, the Central American country has received about 14 deportations per day.
It is unclear how much that will increase under Trump.
But Reuters said nearly 66,000 Guatemalans deported from the US in 2024 were higher than any of Trump’s first term in office from 2017 to 2021.
Rubio visited Guatemala as part of his first trip as a top US diplomat.
He has traveled the area to help Trump’s anti-immigrant anti-immigrant push curry through Panama, El Salvador and Costa Rica before arriving in Guatemala. He will next travel to the Dominican Republic.
However, while in Guatemala, he praised Arevaro for accepting the Guatemala border.
Before taking office, Trump’s transition team was working on where to place non-citizens who were detained as part of an immigrant attack. Certain countries, such as Venezuela and Cuba, have refused to participate in US deportation flights.
For example, news reports revealed in December that Trump plans to approach the Caribbean countries, including the Bahamas, Grenadas, Turks and Caicos, to accept immigration from other countries. .
However, the island nation’s leader refused. “The Bahamas simply do not have the resources to accommodate such requests,” Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said at the time.
On Wednesday, Rubio showed that the US could provide financial support to Guatemala and return non-citizens to their home countries.
He also praised Arevalo, saying that the deportation flight deal is “very important to us in terms of the migratory birds we face.”
“It is important not only to our people, but also to embrace people of other nationalities who will ultimately try to return to their homelands, and we have pledged to support us in those efforts,” Rubio said. I said.
President Alevaro has shown that on his part the issue of accepting immigrants with criminal records is not discussed.
The day before, Salvador’s president, Naive Bukere, offered to jail the violent criminals who would send his way, whether the United States is an immigrant or a citizen of the United States.
But even Trump administration officials have expressed skepticism about the legality of the offer.
Rubio publicly thanked Bukere for his offer, but acknowledged the legal barrier. “We have a constitution,” he said of the United States.
Nevertheless, on Tuesday, the US began sending undocumented immigrants to military bases in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
An estimated 11 million undocumented people live in the United States as of 2022, many of whom play a key role in the community.
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