A U.S. Customs and Border Protection patch is seen on the arm of a U.S. Border Patrol agent
(Photo: REUTERS/Loren Elliott)



A Guatemalan health official reported 44 migrants on one U.S. deportation flight this week were found to be infected with COVID-19. 

The migrants flew to Guatemala from Brownsville, Texas, on April 13. The deportees were received amid rising rejection due to virus fears. 

Immigrants and advocates have been warning the Guatemalan government for weeks about the potential risk attributed to receiving deportation flight from the United States. They believe the flights could hasten the spread of the health crisis in the country. 

The warning comes after a man who arrived in Guatemala from Arizona on March 12 tested positive for coronavirus a few days later. According to local medical officials, he started presenting symptoms two days after landing in Guatemala. He was tested and found to be infected with COVID-19.

The man was immediately hospitalized and isolated. Forty other passengers of the same flight were identified and quarantined at home. 

Closing Borders
Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Guatemala City
(Photo : REUTERS/Luis Echeverria)
Personnel of Guatemala's Health Ministry, wearing protective suits and masks, disinfect themselves at a temporary shelter for Guatemalan migrants who arrived in the country on U.S. deportation flights.


In a press conference on Thursday, Guatemala Foreign Affairs Miniter Pedro Bolo announced the suspension of deportation flights. He did not reveal the reason behind the suspension. He also said he does not know when the flights would resume operation. 

Guatemala's presidential spokesman said the government is working closely with the U.S. to confirm the health status of all migrants returned in recent days. 

Health officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Guatemala's medical experts will also carry out tests on citizens in both countries. Patients who tested positive and those whose results were negative will undergo swabbing. 

A spokesperson for ICE said they are prioritizing the health and welfare of all detainees under their custody. ICE authorities are strictly observing the federal health agency's COVID-19 guidelines. 

The spokesman also said CDC representatives were sent to Guatemala to review and validate the test results performed on the migrants. The ICE will determine whether or not they need to re-evaluate existing medical procedures after the conclusion of the investigation is released. 

According to their website, ICE officers conduct a visual screening on all detainees before boarding. Should a flight medical provider find anything suspicious, the migrant will be denied boarding and immediately referred to an ICE facility for further screening. 

Flight Confusion

The flight carrying the 44 infected deportees reportedly brought 76 Guatemalans. Three migrants were promptly taken to local medical care facilities after displaying coronavirus-like symptoms. Local authorities tested others who had been quarantined at the airport after one of the tests came back positive. 

Initially, there was confusion over where the flight originated. 

On Monday, a spokeswoman for Guatemala's immigration department revealed two flights containing the migrants had arrived from Louisiana and Texas. She corrected herself seconds later, saying they came from Brownsville and El Paso, Texas.

However, a flight-tracking site FlightAware found one of the flights came from Alexandria, Louisiana. The second flight initially departed Brownsville and landed at El Paso before flying to Guatemala. 

Immigration experts say the country is under enormous pressure to continue receiving deportees in the country. They believe the country needs to start having deportees quarantined in government facilities rather than asking them to self-isolate in their homes, which puts their families and friends at a higher risk of contracting the virus.  

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