The United States has sent about 2,300 Mexican nationals to Guatemala, despite objections from the Mexican government, as President Donald Trump steps up deportations. Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo confirmed on Wednesday that his country has received about 2,284 Mexican nationals deported from the US this year. Largely, the Trump administration has justified such deportations by saying that the immigrants in question are unable to return to their home countries.
But that is not the case with Mexico, which has consistently accepted deportations from the US. Critics have blasted the third-country removals as a form of punishment, effectively stranding migrants and asylum seekers far from home. Speaking about the Mexican nationals sent to Guatemala, Arevalo has said that the deportees are quickly repatriated to their country, with the costs covered by either the Mexican or US government.
But Mexican officials voiced concern about the US sending its citizens to third-party countries. Following a meeting with Guatemalan officials on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry also said that the two countries are united by shared values including shared security and “human mobility with dignity”. Guatemala is not the only country to receive Mexican nationals from the US in recent months.
Reports have also emerged that some Mexicans have been transported to Honduras as well. Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) told The news agency that the US had justified the practice as a form of deterrence. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), meanwhile, responded to inquiries about the practice by saying that it was “utilising all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised”.
But many human rights experts view the third-country deportations of Mexicans as an intimidation tactic. As neighbours, the US and Mexico have long had a close relationship. The two countries remain top trading partners for one another, with a cross-border exchange of roughly $964.1bn in 2025 alone.
But since Trump returned to the presidency last year, the Mexican government has had to strike a delicate balance. It has sought to cooperate with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement, while defending the rights of its citizens against alleged abuse. Critics have accused immigration agents of using excessive violence during raids, and experts have noted a rising number of deaths while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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