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Two US migrant deportation flights arrive in Guatemala

migrants descending from a US military plane after being deported from the US at the Guatemalan Air Force Base in Guatemala City on January 24, 2025. —Photo by AFP

White House had earlier announced that “538 illegal immigrant criminals” had been arrested

Key points
  • A total of 79 Guatemalans — 48 men and 31 women — were on a first flight
  • Joe Biden administration removed some 270,000 people in fiscal year 2023
  • Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during election campaign
Guatemala City, Guatemala: Two United States (US) military planes carrying dozens of expelled migrants arrived in Guatemala on Friday, authorities said, without specifying whether they were part of the deportation operation launched by President Donald Trump. A total of 79 Guatemalans — 48 men and 31 women — were on a first flight that landed at around midnight, the Central American country’s migration institute said. The second, with an unspecified number of migrants on board, arrived Friday morning.
guatemala airport crew image

Migrants were sent by US military transport back to Guatemala as part of deportations ordered by Donald Trump. —Photo by AFP

“Illegal immigrant criminals”

The White House announced late Thursday that “538 illegal immigrant criminals” had been arrested and hundreds deported by military aircraft, saying that “the largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.” The Guatemalan government did not confirm whether any of those migrants were among the deportees that arrived Friday. “These are flights that took place after Trump took office,” an official in the Guatemalan vice president’s office told AFP. A Pentagon source told AFP that “overnight, two DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft conducted repatriation flights from the US to Guatemala.”
These are flights that took place after Trump took office.” – Guatemalan vice president’s office official.

“Bad, hard criminals”

Early Friday the White House posted an image on X of men in shackles being marched into a military aircraft, with the caption: “Deportation flights have begun.”
And Trump told reporters that the flights were to get “the bad, hard criminals out.” “Murderers, people that have been as bad as you get. As bad as anybody you’ve seen,” he said. Deportation flights were carried out regularly under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, whose administration removed some 270,000 people in fiscal year 2023 — more than any year of Trump’s first presidency. Friday’s deportees were taken to a reception center at an air force base in Guatemala’s capital, away from the media.

“Remain in Mexico” policy

Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during the election campaign and began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling entry to the United States.

On his first day in office, he signed orders declaring a “national emergency” at the southern border and announced the deployment of more troops to the area while vowing to deport “criminal aliens.”

migrants descending from a US military plane after being deported from the US at the Guatemalan Air Force Base in Guatemala City on January 24, 2025. —Photo by AFP


His administration said it would also reinstate a “Remain in Mexico” policy under which people who apply to enter the United States from Mexico must remain there until their application has been decided.

The White House has also halted an asylum program for people fleeing authoritarian regimes in Central and South America, leaving thousands of people stranded on the Mexican side of the border.

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