On Friday, Guatemalans celebrated a historic victory. The Central American country welcomed the arrival of its first-ever U.S. deportation flight, returning home not only Guatemalan nationals but also foreigners from neighboring Honduras. The spirit flight eventually landed at La Aurora International Airport. It carried three Honduran nationals, along with 56 Guatemalan citizens, according to records from Guatemala’s IGM pipeline agency. In April, the Guatemalan government doubled down on its promises to accept increasing numbers of U.S. deportees. This announcement is a huge reversal of their prior draconian immigration enforcement policy.
Under the previous Biden administration, Guatemala had to take back an average of 14 deportation flights a day. U.S. officials and Guatemalan leaders have been in talks in recent days. Their final discussions resulted in a deal to up the number of flights. Following a visit from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, President Bernardo Arevalo’s administration expressed its readiness to accept not only its citizens but individuals from neighboring Central American countries who have been deported by the U.S.
The authorities initially transported the Honduran nationals aboard the flight to a temporary migration facility in Guatemala. After that, they forcibly returned them to their country of origin. This decision aids the U.S. government’s push to expedite and in many cases rush deportations. Even in the current Republican primary, former President Donald Trump underscores immigration control as a central theme of his political platform.
Guatemala has the longest history for receiving these deportation flights. This practice accelerated under the Trump administration, which implemented draconian anti-immigration policies. The Arevalo administration is keen to keep this up. They are willing to help in repatriating citizens from other countries in the region. Besides taking in its own citizens, Guatemala is willing to accept a small number of non-citizens deported from the U.S.
President Arevalo has been unambiguous in his condemnation of some judicial decisions that are undermining his government’s efforts on repatriation. He has committed to working on a pilot program aimed at repatriating unaccompanied minors, a topic previously discussed with Trump. This comes in light of a June ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that allowed for the resumption of deportations to countries other than migrants’ homelands, even if they assert facing danger there.
Friday’s flight represents a pivotal shift in Guatemala’s approach to immigration and deportation. President Trump has made reducing overall immigration the centerpiece of his second term plans. At the same time, Guatemala plays an increasingly willing role in receiving deportees, illuminating the paradoxes that shape Central American immigration dynamics.
