US steps up migrant deportations with flights to Latin America
Shafaq News/ Three deportation flights carrying 265 Guatemalan nationals landed in Guatemala on Friday, including two US military-operated flights and one chartered aircraft, the Central American country's migration institute said.
The flights are part of what the White House has called the "largest massive deportation operation in history," with over 1,000 migrants arrested in just two days and hundreds deported via military planes. On Thursday alone, US authorities apprehended 538 migrants labeled as "criminals," followed by another 593 on Friday.
Four additional flights carrying deported migrants were sent to Mexico on Thursday, according to a post by the White House press secretary on X. However, reports surfaced that Mexican authorities had turned at least one flight back, a claim Mexico has neither confirmed nor denied.
Mexico's foreign ministry on Friday reiterated its willingness to collaborate with the US on deportation efforts, stating, "Mexico will always accept the arrival of Mexicans to our territory with open arms." However, the government has not disclosed any formal agreements to receive a specific number of flights or deportees.
The deportations reflect President Donald Trump's immigration policies as he begins his second term, fulfilling campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration. On his first day in office, Trump declared a "national emergency" at the southern border, deployed additional troops, and vowed to expedite the removal of "criminal aliens."
In contrast, under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, deportation flights and arrests were carried out regularly, with 270,000 deportations recorded in 2024—a decade-high—alongside 113,400 arrests, averaging 310 per day.
The White House has also halted an asylum program for individuals fleeing authoritarian regimes in Central and South America, leaving thousands stranded on Mexico's side of the border.
While the Guatemalan government confirmed the arrival of deportees on Friday, it did not specify whether any of the migrants arrested this week were among them.
