U.S. military planes carrying dozens of expelled migrants arrived in Guatemala, officials said Friday, as President Donald Trump intensified efforts to combat illegal immigration. According to Guatemala’s migration institute, a total of 265 Guatemalans returned on three flights—two operated by the U.S. military and one charter flight—updating earlier figures.
Meanwhile, the White House press secretary announced on X that four deportation flights were sent to Mexico on Thursday, despite reports from U.S. media suggesting that Mexican authorities had turned away at least one plane. The Mexican government has not confirmed the arrival of these flights or any agreement to accept a specific number of deportees. However, Mexico’s foreign ministry stated it was prepared to collaborate with Washington on the deportation of its citizens, emphasizing that Mexico would “always accept the return of Mexicans to our territory with open arms.”
The deportation flights came as the White House reported the arrest of over 1,000 individuals in just two days, with hundreds deported via military aircraft. Describing the operation as “the largest massive deportation effort in history,” the administration said 538 “criminals” were arrested on Thursday, followed by 593 on Friday. In contrast, during the administration of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, deportation flights were routine, with 270,000 deportations carried out in 2024—a 10-year record—and an average of 310 arrests per day.
‘Bad, Hard Criminals’
The Guatemalan government did not clarify whether any of those arrested this week were among the deportees who arrived Friday. A Guatemalan vice-presidential office official stated that the flights occurred after Trump began his second term. A Pentagon source confirmed that two Department of Defense aircraft conducted repatriation flights to Guatemala overnight.
On Friday, the White House shared an image on X showing men in shackles boarding a military plane, captioned: “Deportation flights have begun.” President Trump referred to the deportees as “bad, hard criminals,” including “murderers” and others he described as “as bad as you get.” The Guatemalan deportees were taken to a reception center at an air force base in Guatemala City, away from media coverage.
Trump, who had campaigned on a hardline immigration platform, initiated his second term with a series of executive orders aimed at overhauling U.S. border policy. On his first day back in office, he declared a “national emergency” at the southern border, announced the deployment of additional troops, and vowed to prioritize the deportation of “criminal aliens.” His administration also reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy, requiring asylum seekers entering from Mexico to stay there until their cases were adjudicated.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on X that the policy had been reinstated and claimed that Mexico had deployed 30,000 National Guard troops to its border. However, the Mexican foreign ministry neither confirmed the troop deployment nor commented on the program’s reinstatement in its official statement.
Additionally, the White House announced the suspension of an asylum program for people fleeing authoritarian regimes in Central and South America, leaving thousands stranded on the Mexican side of the border.