Mexican nationals are being sent to countries where they are not citizens as part of the Trump administration’s third-country deportation strategy. Mexico says it accepts its citizens and has no agreement authorizing these transfers.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not published an official standalone statistical report detailing these specific transfers, but DHS officials confirmed to CBS News that the agency has been quietly conducting third-country deportations of Mexican nationals to Guatemala and Honduras. Independent tracking data and oversight groups have documented hundreds of these specific removals.
Key Details on Third-Country Deportations
- The Practice: U.S. immigration authorities have flown Mexican deportees directly to Guatemala and Honduras instead of returning them to Mexico, bypassing traditional land-border repatriation.
- Stated Intent:DHS officials note the goal is deterrence, aiming to strand or place citizens further away from the U.S.–Mexico border.
- Official Response:Mexico’s Foreign Ministry publicly rejected the practice, stating that Mexico accepts all of its returning nationals and has no agreement allowing the deportation of Mexicans to third countries.
- Tracking Data:Independent projects like Third Country Deportation Watch and monthly metrics from the ICE Flight Monitor report thousands of broader third-country transfers and rising flight frequencies to Guatemala and Honduras.
If you are a Mexican national or any other citizen deported to a third country (like Guatemala or Honduras) where you do not hold citizenship, you are facing a severe crisis. Your immediate priorities are physical safety, securing identification, and establishing contact with your home government.
- Prioritize Immediate Safety
- Stay in Public, Well-Lit Areas:Third-country deportees are highly vulnerable to extortion, human trafficking, and local gangs. Do not leave the airport or transit hub alone if possible.
- Locate Humanitarian Aid Desks:Look for international relief organizations stationed inside or directly outside the arrival terminal. Groups like the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Red Cross, or local Catholic charities frequently operate migrant welcome centers at these airports.
- Do Not Resupply From Unverified Sources:Avoid accepting rides, lodging, or phone use from unregulated individuals offering cheap travel back to your home country.
- Contact Your Nearest Embassy or Consulate
Your home government’s diplomatic mission is the only entity legally obligated to protect you and facilitate your return.
- Find the Embassy: In Guatemala City or Tegucigalpa, locate the Embassy of Mexico
or your respective home country.
- Request a Protection Passport (Pasaporte de Protección):If the U.S. government confiscated your documents, inform your consulate immediately. They can issue emergency travel documents (documento de identidad y viaje) to authorize your legal return to your home country.
- Ask for Safe Repatriation Assistance:Many consulates coordinate with international agencies to provide secure, funded bus or flight transport directly back to your home soil.
- Secure and Protect Your Documents
- Keep U.S. Removal Paperwork:Retain every piece of paper given to you by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This paperwork serves as proof of how you arrived in the third country.
- Make Digital Copies:Use a smartphone to take photos of your emergency documents, U.S. removal orders, and any ID you possess. Email them to yourself or save them to a cloud drive.
Contact Legal Aid and Human Rights Groups
Deporting an individual to a country where they hold no citizenship or legal status violates international law.
- Document Your Case:Write down the exact dates, flight numbers, and what U.S. officials told you before you were boarded onto the aircraft.
- Reach Out to Legal Advocacy Groups:Organizations like Human Rights First or the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) track these unauthorized third-country transfers to build legal challenges against the practice.
the Mexican government has acknowledged the practice and formally rejected it.
Rather than confirming it as a mutually agreed-upon policy, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores) has explicitly stated its strong opposition to the unilateral operations.
The Mexican government’s position highlights several key points:
- Official Opposition:In a public statement addressing these reports, the Mexican Foreign Ministry declared, “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.”
- No Formal Bilateral Agreement:The ministry emphasized that there is no official treaty or signed accord between Mexico and the United States allowing or authorizing the U.S. government to fly Mexican citizens to third-party nations like Guatemala or Honduras.
- Demands for Repatriation Protocols:The Mexican government maintains that international and standard diplomatic procedures dictate that returning citizens must be safely and with proper dignity processed back into their own national territory (Mexico), not abandoned in Central America.
The official statement from Mexico’s Foreign Ministry (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores), released in response to the third-country deportation flights, explicitly rejects the practice:
“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.”
“Mexico consistently takes the steps necessary to ensure the safe and dignified return of all its nationals to national territory.”
Key Pillars of Mexico’s Position
- Violation of Protocol:The Mexican government maintains that proper international and bilateral protocols dictate that deported citizens must always be repatriated directly back onto their own national soil.
- No Agreement Exists:Mexico clarifies that it has never signed or agreed to any treaty allowing the United States to unilaterally drop Mexican citizens into Central American nations.
- Willingness to Receive:President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration has reinforced that Mexico stands ready to accept all returning Mexican nationals “with open arms”, but insists that these returns must be coordinated directly through U.S.–Mexico border points, not channeled through third-party countries.
The U.S. government sends Mexican deportees to Central America primarily as a deterrence strategy to break the cycle of immediate re-entry.
When Mexican nationals are deported across the land border into Mexico, they remain close to the United States and can easily attempt to cross again within days or weeks. Shipping them further south creates a series of logistical and geographical barriers:
- Geographical Distance:Dropping individuals in Guatemala or Honduras physically removes them thousands of miles from the U.S.–Mexico border, making a return trip significantly longer, more dangerous, and more expensive.
- Financial Disruption:Most migrants rely on human smugglers (coyotes) to cross the border. Being sent to a third country disrupts their smuggling arrangements, forcing them to pay thousands of additional dollars to navigate back up through Mexico before they can even attempt a U.S. crossing again.
- Psychological Deterrence:The administration uses the logistical hardship and confusion of being stranded in a country where they hold no citizenship, legal status, or support systems as a psychological tool to discourage others from attempting the journey. For more information on immigration go to parriva’s immigration page.
