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Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo confirmed on Wednesday that his country has received about 2,284 Mexican nationals deported from the US this year.
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The removals are part of a growing trend of third-country deportations under Trump, who has sent migrants and asylum seekers from the US to countries they may have no connection to.
Largely, the Trump administration has justified such deportations by saying that the immigrants in question are unable to return to their home countries.
But that is not the case with Mexico, which has consistently accepted deportations from the US.
Critics have blasted the third-country removals as a form of punishment, effectively stranding migrants and asylum seekers far from home.
Speaking about the Mexican nationals sent to Guatemala, Arevalo has said that the deportees are quickly repatriated to their country, with the costs covered by either the Mexican or US government.
But Mexican officials voiced concern about the US sending its citizens to third-party countries.
Following a meeting with Guatemalan officials on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry also said that the two countries are united by shared values including shared security and “human mobility with dignity”.
Guatemala is not the only country to receive Mexican nationals from the US in recent months. Reports have also emerged that some Mexicans have been transported to Honduras as well.
Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) told The Associated Press news agency that the US had justified the practice as a form of deterrence.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), meanwhile, responded to inquiries about the practice by saying that it was “utilising all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised”.
But many human rights experts view the third-country deportations of Mexicans as an intimidation tactic.
But since Trump returned to the presidency last year, the Mexican government has had to strike a delicate balance.
It has sought to cooperate with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement, while defending the rights of its citizens against alleged abuse.
Critics have accused immigration agents of using excessive violence during raids, and experts have noted a rising number of deaths while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Since Trump returned to office, at least 15 Mexican nationals have died in ICE custody, and another three died during enforcement operations.
In response, the Mexican government has filed complaints with state prosecutors in the US. It has also denounced conditions in ICE detention centres as “incompatible with human rights standards” and urged regular visits from Mexican consular officials.
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Informação baseada em material público de Al Jazeera, reescrito pela redação ULTRA NOTÍCIAS.
