Exclusive: Sources suggest Guatemala is willing to take in Trump’s Central American deportees

In an effort to forge a good rapport with the new Trump administration, Guatemala is willing to take in nationals of other Central American countries who have been deported from the United States, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.

According to a Guatemalan official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, “there has to be a regional response.” “And we want to be part of the solution.”

Relationship tensions have made it difficult for the United States to deport citizens from countries like Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. President-elect Donald Trump may find that difficult to accomplish, as he has pledged to deport a record number of illegal immigrants.

His group has already contacted the governments of a number of nations to see whether they would be open to accepting deportees from third-world nations.

Numerous neighbors of the United States, including as Mexico and the Bahamas, have expressed their opposition to accepting deportees from third nations.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security report from 2022 found that 4.8 million of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States were from Mexico, accounting for more than 40% of the total. El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala came next, together making up more than one-fifth of the total.

When it comes to getting ready for a second Trump term, Guatemala has been more proactive than its neighbors El Salvador and Honduras. It has met with members of the Trump transition team, Senator Marco Rubio prior to his appointment as secretary of state, and the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation to discuss issues like border security, drug trafficking, China, and migration and mass deportations.

Trump’s demand that they take in deportees and the possibility of reducing remittances from immigrants in the U.S., which are a significant source of income for their economies, present challenges for all three nations as well as the Nicaraguan government, which has the most openly antagonistic relationship with the United States.

A request for comment from the Trump transition team was not immediately answered.

A SMOOTH START IS SOUGHT

The discussions between the United States and Guatemala indicate that President Bernard Arevalo’s center-left government, an ally of the Biden administration, wants to get off to a good start with the Trump administration, despite connections between the conservative opposition in Guatemala and many people in the president-elect’s inner circle. On January 20, Trump will be sworn in.

El Salvador, whose populist leader Nayib Bukele already enjoys close relations with the Trump administration, has adopted a less assertive stance. The Trump administration anticipates seamless collaboration with El Salvador on immigration, according to a source familiar with talks between Salvadoran officials and the transition team.

Under President Joe Biden, Guatemala currently receives 14 deportation flights per week, and the government is getting ready for more, the Guatemalan official said.

Ten deportation flights arrive in Honduras each week, Antonio Garcia, the deputy foreign minister, said Reuters. There were too many deportation flights to other Central American nations for Reuters to verify.

An increase in deportations

Because it will take time to ramp up deportations, Guatemala anticipates a large surge in them in the fall.

Another official from the Guatemalan government stated, “We know it’s coming, but we aren’t ready for it.”

Asserting that each nation should be accountable for its inhabitants, the second official stated that Guatemala will give preference to Guatemalans for reintegration. He also emphasized a regional agreement that permits free travel between Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador.

The individual stated that Guatemala’s goal for deportees is to use the abilities they acquired in the United States in the private sector.

These individuals, many of whom understand English, have experience in a variety of industries, including construction and services. Our goal is to utilize that.

Three people with knowledge of the situation claim that in late November, Guatemala’s security minister and director of migration traveled to Washington to meet with Rubio and other influential Republicans. During their meeting, they discussed issues such as deportations, migration, and drug trafficking.

They also met with representatives of the Heritage Foundation, which provided a large portion of the first Trump administration’s staff.

The sources stated that although they talked about immigration and deportations, the foundation mostly stressed that it preferred Guatemala to remain loyal to Taiwan, a U.S. ally, rather than China.

If remittances decline and the expense of reintegrating deportees increases, officials are aware that more deportations could put a pressure on Guatemala’s economy.

Money sent home by the diaspora in the United States is known as remittances, and it accounts for about 20% of Guatemala’s GDP.

About 30 percent of Honduras’ GDP and 24 percent of El Salvador’s GDP in 2023 came from remittances.

The immediate economic impact of a decline in remittances is not a concern for Guatemalan officials, but they are concerned about a combination of decreased remittances and Trump’s proposed higher tariffs or taxed remittances.

The second official stated, “We don’t have a financial plan yet, there are just too many unknowns.”

According to two sources, Guatemalan authorities are examining data from the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration that indicates which regions of the country saw the greatest number of migrants leave in an effort to get those communities ready for their potential return.

The Salvadoran government promised to make plans public as soon as the Trump administration acts.

“We work in facts and it’s still all speculation,” Vice President Felix Ulloa said to Reuters.

Bukele has several connections to Trump and, like Trump, portrays himself as a political disruptor.

The ambassador of Honduras to the United States has held informal meetings with Guatemala and Trump’s transition team to organize a reaction, according to the country’s deputy foreign minister, Garcia.

Garcia stressed that deportees have always been sent to the country, but he also pointed out that at least 40% of migrants attempt to return to the US. He went on to say that both nations should strive to alleviate the poverty, unemployment, and gang violence that are driving migration.

“Honduras is already experiencing the phenomenon of mass deportations and perhaps the difference will be from 10 flights to 20 or 30 more,” Garcia explained. “We will have to sit down with the Americans and agree on logistics and slots at return centers to do so within a framework of dignity and respect.”