Guatemala has received its first deportation flight from the United States carrying both Guatemalan and foreign immigrants, the country’s migration authority confirmed, as President Donald Trump’s administration pursues its hardline anti-immigration crackdown.
The flight arrived on Friday, bringing three Hondurans and 56 Guatemalan nationals, according to Guatemala’s IGM migration agency. The Honduran passengers were taken to a migration centre before being transferred to their home country.
The Guatemalan government has said it remains open to receiving citizens from neighbouring Central American nations deported by the US as it seeks to strengthen ties with the Trump administration.
Earlier this year, President Bernardo Arevalo’s government agreed to increase the number of deportation flights it would receive following a visit from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Arevalo has also indicated that Guatemala is prepared to take in some non-citizens deported from the US.
This is not the first time Guatemala has received deportation flights from the US, with Guatemalan nationals being sent back as early as January under the latest Trump administration.
Last month, a US judge ordered the Trump administration to refrain from deporting Guatemalan unaccompanied migrant children with active immigration cases while a legal challenge plays out. The children, who had arrived alone, remain in federal custody while their asylum claims are reviewed.
Arevalo criticised the ruling, saying he would continue working to repatriate the children through a pilot programme discussed with Trump.
White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller condemned the judge’s decision, as the Trump administration moves forward with its broader deportation campaign.
Under the previous Joe Biden administration, the Central American country handled about 14 flights a day. According to the Reuters news agency, nearly 66,000 Guatemalans were deported from the US during fiscal year 2024 – the highest figure recorded in recent years.
Trump has made curbing migration a key priority of his second term. His administration has pressed Central American and Caribbean nations to cooperate with US deportation efforts.
In December, Trump had approached several Caribbean governments, including those of the Bahamas, Grenada, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, to accept migrants from third countries, though the island leaders rejected the proposal.
In June, the US Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to resume deporting immigrants to countries other than their homeland – even if they claim they could face danger there.
