The reported deportations mark a sharp departure from the usual practice of returning Mexican nationals directly to Mexico. The dispute puts a new diplomatic and humanitarian question at the center of the administration’s broader deportation push.
The United States is deporting Mexican migrants to Guatemala and Honduras instead of returning them to Mexico, according to Department of Homeland Security officials who spoke to CBS News. Mexico is angry about the deportations and says it accepts the return of all its nationals, rejecting the U.S. practice of sending Mexican citizens to third countries.
The reported policy matters because it appears designed to make a return journey to the U.S.-Mexico border harder. It also creates a diplomatic dispute with Mexico while leaving major questions about the arrangements with Guatemala and Honduras unanswered.
A departure from usual returns
For years, U.S. authorities have deported Mexican citizens into Mexico, including at locations far from the border. That strategy was itself intended to discourage repeat unauthorized crossings by making a quick return to the U.S. boundary more difficult.
But the reported transfers to Guatemala and Honduras go further. Instead of returning a Mexican national to their home country, the U.S. is reportedly flying people over Mexican territory and placing them in another Central American country.
Two DHS officials told CBS News that the practice has been underway for months and has involved hundreds of Mexican citizens. The officials did not provide a precise total, and the U.S. government has not formally announced the policy.
Mexico says it did not agree
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said the government is willing to receive all Mexican nationals returned from the United States. It said Mexico rejects the deportation of its citizens to third countries and has no agreement authorizing such transfers.
That position is central to the dispute. Third-country deportations have often been associated with countries that limit U.S. repatriation flights or with people who cannot be returned to their home countries because of legal protections or other barriers.
Mexico does not fit that description, based on the account provided to CBS News. Mexican authorities have historically accepted their own returned citizens and, at times, deportees from other Latin American countries.
The apparent decision to bypass Mexico therefore looks less like a workaround for a reluctant receiving government and more like a deliberate enforcement tool.
Deterrence is the stated logic
The DHS officials told CBS News that one goal is to deter illegal immigration from Mexico by moving deportees farther south and farther from the U.S.-Mexico border. A DHS spokesperson said the Trump administration is using lawful options to pursue the large-scale deportation campaign President Trump promised.
Supporters of aggressive enforcement could see the approach as an attempt to increase the consequences of remaining in the U.S. without legal status. Sending someone to Guatemala or Honduras rather than a Mexican border city may add distance, expense and uncertainty to any attempt to travel north again.
Critics see a different message: punishment beyond the removal itself. Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America told CBS News that the policy is largely punitive and meant to publicize the hardship that can follow deportation.
Those perspectives point to the same practical effect. The policy may make a future border crossing more difficult, but it does so by moving Mexican citizens into countries that are not their own.
Third-country transfers raise stakes
Being deported to a country where a person has no family, job, home or established support network can create immediate problems. People may need money for onward travel, identification help, shelter and access to consular assistance before they can return to Mexico.
The available reporting does not establish what services Mexican deportees receive after arriving in Guatemala or Honduras, whether they are given a clear route home, or how long they remain there. It also does not detail whether every person transferred had the same immigration history or legal circumstances.
Those gaps matter because a deportation flight is not the end of a person’s journey. The country of removal can shape what happens next: a direct return to one’s community, a difficult trip through unfamiliar territory, or possible exposure to new dangers.
There is also a regional burden-sharing question. Guatemala and Honduras may be asked to receive people who are neither their citizens nor necessarily residents, while Mexico says it was prepared to take them back.
Guatemala and Honduras remain unclear
CBS News said it contacted representatives of the Guatemalan and Honduran governments for comment on their arrangements with the United States and had not received responses at the time of publication.
That leaves the terms of any cooperation uncertain. It is not clear what formal agreements, if any, govern the flights; what notice the receiving governments receive; or what commitments exist for transportation, security, housing or humanitarian support after arrival.
The lack of a public announcement also limits outside scrutiny. Immigration policy can be carried out through operational decisions that are legal under U.S. rules but still have significant consequences for foreign governments and deported individuals.
Mexico’s objection makes this more than a routine removal matter. It is now a disagreement over whether the U.S. should send Mexican citizens elsewhere when Mexico says it is ready to receive them.
A test for regional cooperation
The episode comes as the Trump administration expands deportation efforts and seeks broader cooperation across the Americas. Third-country removals can give U.S. officials flexibility when direct returns are difficult, but this case suggests the approach may also be used where a direct return is available.
That distinction could affect relations with Mexico, one of Washington’s most important partners on migration, border enforcement and trade. Mexico has often played a major role in managing migration flows through the region, including accepting certain non-Mexican deportees.
What remains unclear is whether Mexico’s public opposition will change the practice, whether Guatemala and Honduras will confirm their roles, and whether the administration will disclose how many Mexican citizens have been transferred. For now, the reported flights show how deportation policy can become a diplomatic flashpoint even when the deportee’s home country says it is willing to take them back.
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