Mexico City says it was not consulted over the controversial policy, which has drawn sharp criticism from officials and human rights groups.
“A sharp escalation”
The United States has deported roughly 2,300 Mexican citizens to neighbouring Guatemala, despite strong objections from the Mexican government, in a move that underscores the Trump administration’s intensifying campaign to remove immigrants from US soil.
The deportations mark a significant escalation in Washington’s use of third-country removals — a practice that has alarmed rights groups and strained relations between the US and its closest regional allies.
“A rapid transit” through Guatemala
Guatemala’s president, Bernardo Arévalo, confirmed this week that 2,284 Mexican nationals have arrived in the country since the start of the year after being deported from the United States.
“They were brought here on repatriation flights intended for Guatemalans,” Arévalo told a press conference. “Through coordination with the Mexican government, we arranged their transit and quickly returned them to Mexican territory within 24 hours of arrival.”
He also added that the costs of repatriating these citizens were covered by either the Mexican or US governments.
A policy without precedent
The deportations are among a series of recent measures by the Trump administration to expel migrants and asylum seekers to third countries with which they may have no connection whatsoever.
Previously, the administration had justified such removals by arguing that certain immigrants could not be returned to their home countries. But that argument does not hold in the case of Mexico — a country that has consistently demonstrated its readiness to receive its own citizens deported from the United States.
The Mexican government has voiced deep concern over the transfer of its nationals to third countries.
In a recent statement, Mexico’s foreign ministry stressed: “The government of Mexico has expressed its disagreement with the actions of US authorities and reiterated that all Mexican citizens have the right to enter the country’s mainland.”
A delicate diplomatic balance
As neighbouring nations, the United States and Mexico maintain long-standing and close ties. The two countries remain each other’s largest trading partners, with cross-border trade estimated at $964.1bn in 2025 alone.
Yet since Trump returned to the presidency last year, the Mexican government has found itself navigating an increasingly delicate balance — co-operating with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement while simultaneously defending the rights of its own citizens.
