Guatemala has received approximately 2,300 Mexican citizens deported from the United States so far in 2026, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo confirmed on August 20, revealing the scale of a Trump administration practice that routes deportees through third countries rather than directly home.
The revelation came during a televised interview in which Arevalo said the deported Mexicans arrived on flights alongside Guatemalan returnees and were transferred back to Mexico within 24 hours, with transportation costs covered by either Mexico or the US.
Mexico Objects to Third-Country Routing
Mexico’s foreign ministry issued a statement opposing the practice, saying it has formally notified US authorities of its rejection. The ministry said it was working to repatriate citizens deported to Central American countries, though it did not specify the number of cases or associated costs.
The US State Department, when asked why Mexican citizens were being deported to a country other than their own, declined to explain and reiterated the administration’s commitment to ending illegal immigration.
Under international law, deportees are typically sent directly to their country of citizenship. Third-country deportations are generally reserved for cases where the home country refuses to accept its nationals or when conditions are unsafe. However, under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, the practice has expanded significantly.
Purpose of Third-Country Routing Questioned
Immigration experts said the strategy of routing Mexicans through Guatemala or Honduras appears designed to make illegal reentry to the US more difficult by moving deportees farther from the US-Mexico border.
It is unclear if these are Mexican citizens who have protection concerns in their country of origin or if the administration is just doing this to be punitive, said Andrew Selee, president of the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute.
Human Rights First said it had confirmed the deportation of about 200 additional Mexicans to Honduras. The organization’s director of policy, Savi Arvey, said the US had been systematically deporting Mexicans to Honduras and Guatemala since May.
Deportee Arturo Trejo, interviewed from his Mexican hometown by Telemundo, said he was among dozens of Mexicans flown from the US to Honduras before being returned to Mexico. They did not tell us anything, just to get on the flight, he said.
The practice is part of a broader trend in the Trump administration’s migration policy. As of May 2026, the US had used third-country agreements to send over 17,500 people to at least 21 countries, according to the Third Country Deportation Watch tracking project. Ana Maria Mendez, Central America director at the migrants rights group WOLA, said the tactic creates uncertainty for migrants about their destination and whether their rights will be protected.
Sources: Reuters; Washington Post; Third Country Deportation Watch; Human Rights First
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