Guatemala city-. During this year, the United States returned 33,553 Guatemalan migrants on 282 flights, adding those from the week of June 17 to 22, an official source reported today.
Of this total, 31,106 were adults and 2,447 were minors, the National Institute dedicated to the subject said in a statement, in which text it added 2,760 returned by air from neighboring Mexico.
Seven thousand 589 Guatemalans (1,945 adults and 815 children) also arrived by land from Aztec territory from January to June of this year, the entity specified in the text.
Among the last group, 1,671 returnees from Mexico and the United States, there were 169 minors who made the journey north with company, as well as 54 without them.
The Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM) described that the Tecún Umán Returnee Reception Center, in San Marcos, and the one located in the capital’s Air Force comply with the established protocols.
The reception process – he explained – is directed by the Subdirectorate of Care and Protection of Fundamental Rights together with more than 10 institutions that provide care to Guatemalans.
Data from the IGM showed that the figure of 19,337 nationals returned by air from the United States until the end of March showed an increase of 69.2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023. The fundamental cause of the measure lies in the irregular status of these people and, in accordance with the statistics, the number of flights also increased, the entity stated.
“Deportations are going to increase from both Mexico and the United States because the number of people is very significant,” analyst Fernando Castro predicted in statements to the local press.
On Friday, December 29, the last flight of 2023 arrived from the United States with 123 Guatemalans, who completed, together with those from Mexico, 55,302, a decrease of 15.4 percent compared to the previous annual period.
Those returned to the land of the quetzal by air from the United States during that period; However, they registered an increase of around 28.2 percent, compared to those in 2022.
