Hundreds of Migrants Expelled From U.S. to Mexico Are Now Stuck in Limbo in Guatemala

Hundreds of migrants, who had been expelled from the U.S. under pandemic-related restrictions and flown to Mexico, are now stranded in a border town in Guatemala.

Under the policy that originates back to the Trump era, "Title 42" allowed the expulsion of migrants over COVID concerns. With this in effect, the Biden administration began expelling Central American migrants to Mexico since last week. It was touted to be a much faster deportation procedure.

After they were flown from Brownsville, Texas to Villahermosa and Tapachula in Mexico on a chartered U.S. government flight, the migrants were then reportedly bused to El Ceibo, Guatemala near the Mexican border.

Central American Migrants Stuck in Guatemala

The migrants' swift expulsion was part of a partnership between the U.S. and Mexico governments. The Biden administration hopes it will deter migrants from returning to the U.S.-Mexico border.

The U.S. started flying migrant families deep into Mexico, which is far from the border, last Thursday. At least 200 Central American and Mexican family members were reportedly expelled deep into southern Mexico that day under the Trump-era policy, Title 42, that allows migrants to be deported over COVID concerns.

It was the first time that the Biden administration used Title 42 to expel migrants. It also appeared to be the first time that Central Americans have been flown to Mexico.

As the policy on the border continues to be applied, migrant shelters in Guatemala are becoming overcrowded. One of the shelters, Casa del Migrante, located in El Ceibo, was overwhelmed as more than 300 deported asylum seekers arrived in the area since Friday last week.

The said shelter, which was reported to have a maximum capacity of 30 people, implemented a two-night limit for the deported migrants.

Natalia Lorenzo from the Guatemalan government's human rights ombudsman told the Washington Post that the Central American migrants were tricked as they were told there would be a bus in El Ceibo that will take them to their countries but there's none.

Andrés Toribio, the man who runs the shelter in El Ceibo, also told the Post that he was stunned by the large number of migrants arriving in their area. He said at least seven buses arrived with migrants from the U.S. on Monday night alone.

He added that another U.S. flight was due to leave for Mexico on Tuesday night and that the migrants would again later be bused to El Ceibo. Toribio noted that the rights of these migrants were violated as they were not given the right to apply for asylum in the U.S. or Mexico.

"Then they end up here in a place with almost nothing for them, without organizations that work with migrants," he added.

Concerns on Expulsion of Migrants from Central America

Different groups and organizations had expressed concerns about the U.S. government's migrant policy. On Wednesday, five agencies from the United Nations (UN) called on the Biden administration to lift the "Title 42" restriction on asylum.

Eleanor Acer, Human Rights First's senior director of refugee protection, said these expulsions are "illegal, inhumane, and blatant violations of U.S. refugee law and the Refugee Convention."

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the Biden administration's strategy for dealing with migration to the border on Thursday. Mayorkas said the move aims to curb the repeated attempt of the migrants at getting into the U.S. illegally.

Mayorkas noted that they were working with the Mexican government regarding the flights. He also said that they comply with international law to provide humanitarian protection when warranted.

The border patrol agents encountered more than 212,000 migrants along the southwest border in July. Data from Customs and Border Protection showed that 27 percent were repeat crossers.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written By: Joshua Summers

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