U.S. deporting thousands of Mexican migrants to Central American countries

U.S. deporting thousands of Mexican migrants to Central American countries

U.S. deportations appear to be ramping up, with planes arriving Thursday in Haiti, Liberia

The United States has deported nearly 2,300 Mexicans to Guatemala this year and sent at least dozens more to Honduras, according to official data, a shift from the beginning of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term when such transfers were minimal.

Until recently, only a handful of Mexicans had been expelled from the U.S. to countries other than Mexico, as it had adhered to the principle of non-refoulement in both domestic immigration law and through international treaties. That refers to an obligation not to return migrants to countries of origin or third-party countries where their human rights, or even their lives or freedom, could be threatened for reasons of race, religion or nationality.

Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) confirmed to The Associated Press in a brief message that Mexicans have been deported by the Trump administration to Guatemala and Honduras, primarily since April, and are then transported by bus to southern Mexico.

"The Mexican government has expressed its opposition to this practice to U.S. authorities and has reiterated that every Mexican citizen has the right to enter the country," the Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

On immigration, Trump administration has chalked up many more wins than setbacks

The flow of migrants through Mexico and across the southern U.S. border has frequently led to friction between the countries. In the second Trump administration, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's government has also protested the deaths of 17 Mexicans in U.S. immigration custody or during enforcement operations.

Asked about why the Mexicans were sent to Central America and not their own country, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, said in an emailed statement that the administration "is utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised."

U.S. accused of exploiting loophole

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo confirmed Wednesday night that, so far this year, 2,284 Mexicans deported from the U.S. have arrived in the country as part of a "transit stopover" before being taken to Mexico as part of an "arrangement" with the Mexican government, and without these individuals being under any refugee or asylum status.

"They are arriving on planes carrying Guatemalan returnees, and what we have done is bring them in transit so that, in co-ordination with Mexican immigration authorities, we can return them to Mexican territory within 24 hours of their arrival in the country," he said at a press conference.

Authorities in Honduras also did not respond to requests for comment, but according to official documents from the country accessed by The Associated Press, 82 Mexicans deported from the United States arrived in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula on two flights on Aug. 13 and 15. An additional 35 arrived on Thursday.

Another 165 Mexicans were deported to Honduras between May and mid-July, according to the website Third Country Deportation Watch, run by the NGOs Human Rights First and Refugees International, which track U.S. deportation flights to third countries.

How Trump turned ICE into a mass deportation machine

Immigration lawyers believe that the Trump administration is using deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers to return to Mexico when the government cannot send them there because it would violate court orders from immigration judges that recognize the dangers.

The deportation tactic "seems to be to put pressure on the Mexican government," said Savitri Arvey of Human Rights First. "They really don't want any Mexicans crossing the border."

At the beginning of his second term, with immigration control as one of his priorities, Trump reached agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama to act as "bridge" or destination countries for migrants from third countries expelled from U.S. territory.

Haiti deportations begin after court ruling

The U.S. on Thursday deported people to Haiti for the first time since the Trump administration won a legal battle at the Supreme Court, while also carrying out its first deportation under an agreement for Liberia to accept up to 1,200 people who are not from that country.

In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move ahead with ending the temporary protected status (TPS) program for Haitians and Syrians in the case at hand, though the decision will likely affect U.S. residents from about a dozen countries who received TPS protections after fleeing deadly violence or extreme natural disasters.

Liberia to begin accepting up to 1,200 deportees from the U.S.

Haitians in the U.S. brace for deportation as Trump ends their protected status

Jean Negot Bonheur Delva, director general of Haiti's National Office of Migration, did not say how many of the 161 deportees who arrived Thursday were TPS holders who had been living and working legally in the U.S. Many Haitians have been living in the U.S. since the aftermath of a 2010 earthquake that left at least 100,000 people dead.

Delva noted that some of the deportees were not even born in Haiti, although they are of Haitian descent.

Quebec advocates urge Canada to protect Haitian refugees fearing U.S. deportation

Activists have warned that Haiti is currently too dangerous and doesn't have enough resources to help those being deported. More than than half of its 12 million citizens need humanitarian assistance because of surging gang violence and deepening poverty, hunger and violence.

More than 3,100 people were reported killed from January to June and another 1,189 injured, according to UN statistics. The U.S. State Department warns against travelling to the Caribbean nation, and there is a ban on U.S. commercial flights to the main international airport in Port-au-Prince because it is considered too dangerous.

In Liberia, about 20 deportees from the U.S. arrived at Roberts International Airport outside Monrovia. Deportees will include African nationals as well as nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, according to Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah. Liberian Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh has said they could seek asylum in the West African country if they wished.

The U.S. State Department said it was "unwavering in our commitment to end illegal and mass immigration and bolster America's border security."