WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has been quietly deporting Mexican citizens to Central American nations like Guatemala and Honduras, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials who spoke to CBS News. The practice, which flies deportees into third-party countries rather than returning them to Mexican territory, marks an unprecedented shift in immigration enforcement.
Despite Mexico’s explicit willingness to accept all of its returning citizens, U.S. authorities have already flown hundreds of Mexican nationals to Central America over recent months. Anonymous DHS sources revealed that the policy is intentionally designed as a harsh deterrent, aiming to place deported migrants geographically further away from the U.S. southern border to discourage repeat crossing attempts.
The strategy has sparked immediate pushback from officials in Mexico City. In an official statement provided to CBS News, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry rejected the unilateral practice, emphasizing that no third-country deportation agreement exists between the two nations.
“The Government of Mexico accepts the return of all its nationals. It therefore rejects the deportation of Mexican nationals to third countries and has no such agreement in place,” the ministry stated, adding that it continues to advocate for the safe and dignified repatriation of its citizens directly to Mexican territory.
Meanwhile, a DHS spokesperson defended the administration’s broader crackdowns, stating that officials are utilizing “all lawful options” to carry out promised mass deportation operations. While previous U.S. administrations have returned migrants deep into interior Mexican cities to deter re-entry, sending citizens to entirely foreign nations has historically been reserved for countries that refuse to accept deportees.
Immigration experts described the maneuver as punitive, noting that broadcasting such severe consequences is intended to encourage voluntary self-deportations among undocumented residents across the United States.CBS News: U.S. deporting Mexican migrants
This video provides additional context and reporting on the U.S. policy of deporting Mexican migrants to third-party Central American countries and the subsequent pushback from Mexican authorities.
Source: CBS
