{"code":"24303","sect":"Centroam\u00e9rica","sect_slug":"centroamerica","hits":"646","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202004\/centroamerica\/24303","link_edit":"","name":"U.S. Deportation Policies Are Spreading COVID-19","slug":"u-s-deportation-policies-are-spreading-covid-19","info":"","mtag":"Migration","noun":{"html":"Jeff Abbott","data":{"jeff-abbott":{"sort":"","slug":"jeff-abbott","path":"jeff_abbott","name":"Jeff Abbott","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"646","pict":{"cms-image-000033474-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"33474","name":"cms-image-000033474.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000033474.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000033474.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000033474-jpg","text":"<p>An immigration official uses a protective face mask as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus, COVID-19, upon the arrival of Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States, at the Air Force base in Guatemala City, on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ \/ AFP)<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EAn immigration official uses a protective face mask as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus, COVID-19, upon the arrival of Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States, at the Air Force base in Guatemala City, on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ \/ AFP)\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000033475-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"33475","name":"cms-image-000033475.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000033475.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000033475.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000033475-jpg","text":"<p>Guatemalan immigration officials use protective equipment as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus, COVID-19, as they receiving Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States, at the Air Force base in Guatemala City, on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ \/ AFP)<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EGuatemalan immigration officials use protective equipment as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus, COVID-19, as they receiving Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States, at the Air Force base in Guatemala City, on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ \/ AFP)\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":33474,"date":{"live":"2020\/04\/18"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2020","data_post_dateLive_MM":"04","data_post_dateLive_DD":"18","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EGuatemala\u2019s borders are closed. Flights are canceled. Businesses are shuttered. Transportation is suspended, and Guatemalans are not permitted to leave the departments in which they live. All these measures have been taken in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. One of the few exemptions from the lockdowns are the near daily deportations: both flights from the United States and buses carrying migrants from Mexico continue to spill into Guatemala, undermining methods of controlling the spread of the virus.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBetween March 13 \u2014 when Guatemala announced the first positive case of the COVID-19 virus \u2014 and April 14, the United states has deported over 1,600 Guatemalans. In the same time period, another nearly 2,000 Guatemalans were returned by land through Mexico. Faced with the global pandemic, migrant rights advocates have called on the United States and Mexican governments to suspend deportations. Trump, meanwhile, has threatened \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/memorandum-visa-sanctions\/\"\u003Eto impose visa sanctions\u003C\/a\u003E on any country that refuses to accept deportations amidst the pandemic.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThis is dangerous,\u201d Father Juan Carbajal, the director of the Catholic Church\u2019s Pastoral of Human Mobility in Guatemala, said. \u201c[The deportations] show a lack of ethics and a lack of respect for international rights, especially amidst this crisis.\u201d Carbajal added \u201cthere have been deportations that are being carried out without any concern for their health.\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs of April 16, Guatemala has registered 214 total cases of COVID-19, resulting in 7 deaths.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=2000&ImageHeight=1333&ImageId=33475 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Guatemalan immigration officials use protective equipment as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus, COVID-19, as they receiving Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States, at the Air Force base in Guatemala City, on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ \/ AFP)\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Guatemalan immigration officials use protective equipment as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus, COVID-19, as they receiving Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States, at the Air Force base in Guatemala City, on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ \/ AFP) \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAccording to Hugo Monroy, the Guatemalan Health Minister, the recent increase of cases is the result of the massive deportation and expulsion of Guatemalan migrants from the United States and Mexico. Monroy\u2019s statements contradict both the statements of Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and the United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, which have stated that no migrants have been deported with the virus.\u00a0\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Health Minister, however, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/14a3406afdd3372c763ba96e9959b0c0\"\u003Etold reporters\u003C\/a\u003E on Tuesday, April 14, that at least 50 percent of the total 41 people deported on a single flight on March 26, which departed from Mesa, Arizona, tested positive for the virus. While the Guatemalan Health Ministry has not made exact numbers public, they have confirmed four COVID-19 positive cases among migrants deported on the March 26 flight, including one case that was found to be \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/lahora.gt\/asi-fue-como-salud-detecto-el-ultimo-caso-de-covid-19-en-un-retornado\/\"\u003Easymptomatic\u003C\/a\u003E. The four individuals who tested positive all returned to their homes, likely furthering the spread of the virus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Associated Press \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/fb3eeaa165ba4a8b87dd7690461d2ff1\"\u003Ereports\u003C\/a\u003E another 44 cases of deported migrants testing positive for COVID-19. The migrants arrived on an April 13 flight that Guatemalan officials claim arrived from Brownsville, Texas. According to a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/flightaware.com\/live\/flight\/SWQ3553\"\u003Eflight tracker\u003C\/a\u003E, however, the flight registered as having departed from Alexandria, Louisiana. Neither the Guatemalan Health Ministry nor ICE would clarify details about the flight or confirm the total number of people deported to Guatemala who have tested positive.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EGuatemalan officials \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/7489299bf57cac98c6a1a2269c097193\"\u003Eannounced on\u003C\/a\u003E April 15 that they would begin testing all deported migrants who show any symptoms for the COVID-19 virus. If any tests are positive it would lead to the testing of everyone who arrived on the flight. Prior to the decision by the Ministry of Health, only those who had symptoms were tested for COVID-19.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAccording to official data from ICE, there are also currently 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in detention facilities across the United States, including in the Florence Detention Center in Florence, Arizona, where, according to a spokesperson from ICE, one of the migrants deported on March 26 who tested positive for COVID-19 was held.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs confusion continues, and as the virus spreads at unknown speed both within U.S. immigration detention centers and among those who have already been deported, on Thursday, the Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Relations \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.prensalibre.com\/guatemala\/migrantes\/coronavirus-guatemala-suspende-deportaciones-desde-estados-unidos-ultima-hora\/\"\u003Eannounced\u003C\/a\u003E the temporary suspension of deportations. On April 17, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei announced that \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.prensalibre.com\/guatemala\/comunitario\/guatemala-registra-21-nuevos-casos-de-coronavirus-la-mayoria-son-migrantes-deportados-de-ee-uu\/\"\u003E12 people deported on April 13 had tested positive\u003C\/a\u003E. He confirmed the suspension of deportation flights.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=2000&ImageHeight=1333&ImageId=33474 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"An immigration official uses a protective face mask as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus, COVID-19, upon the arrival of Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States, at the Air Force base in Guatemala City, on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ \/ AFP)\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E An immigration official uses a protective face mask as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus, COVID-19, upon the arrival of Guatemalan migrants deported from the United States, at the Air Force base in Guatemala City, on March 12, 2020. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ \/ AFP) \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E***\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cI wasn\u2019t as worried for me as I was for my children,\u201d Laura, the wife of a deportee from an indigenous town Santa Lucia Utatl\u00e1n, in the department of Solol\u00e1, told me.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe 32-year-old, who requested a pseudonym to protect her family, explained that her husband developed a cough and stopped eating after being deported by bus. Upon presenting symptoms at home, he was taken by ambulance for nearly three hours to Guatemala City, where the only hospitals currently capable of testing are located. He is currently recuperating in the hospital.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ETurning away migrants at the border, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/488164-trump-admin-to-begin-turning-back-all-undocumented-immigrants-asylum\"\u003Ea policy\u003C\/a\u003E the Trump administration implemented in late March, which involves sending Central Americans migrants back to Mexico immediately after they cross the border, has also exposed migrants to more possible points of contagion. Instead of being placed on a flight, Laura\u2019s husband was returned to Mexico, where he was detained by Mexican Immigration officials, boarded onto a government bus, and then driven back to Guatemala. The trip took about 10 days.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cAfter he was taken to the hospital, I didn\u2019t want to touch any of my things or lay in our bed,\u201d Laura said. \u201cThis virus is not like any other virus.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe deportation of Guatemalans, many of whom come from poor rural communities where multiple generations can share a single home, has put communities with limited economic resources, and little access to the health care system, at grave risk.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThey should not be carrying out [deportations],\u201d said Jos\u00e9 Manuel G\u00f3mez Garc\u00eda, the mayor of the Maya K\u2019iche town of San Francisco el Alto, who took office in January with the VAMOS party. The mayor says the municipality registered two cases of residents who have tested positive for the virus after being deported from the United States on March 30.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cCountries like ours do not have the capacity to absorb the deportees, even if they arrive healthy, as there is no work and there is no opportunity,\u201d he explained. \u201cNow many are coming back sick. Our healthcare system does not have the capacity to attend to them.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E***\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ESince obtaining office in 2017, the Trump administration has worked to deport migrants as part of the administration's \u201czero-tolerance\u201d policy towards immigration. These policies have, at this point, practically nullified the asylum process and have resulted in the amassing of both migrants and asylum seekers south of the US-Mexico Border.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn 2019, the United States deported 54,999 Guatemalans on 486 flights chartered by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Two private companies fly deportation flights, iAero Airways, formerly Swiftair, and World Atlantic Airlines. Each flight costs around $7,800 dollars per hour to operate, according to the Associated Press.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn the same year, another 49,145 Guatemalans were deported by land from Mexico.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EDeportation flights have continued in the first months of 2020. According to data from the Guatemala Institute for Migration, the country was receiving between two and five flights per weekday prior to the pandemic. These flights have decreased to between one and two per weekday since mid-March.\u00a0\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E***\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn an attempt to contain the spread of the virus, on March 13, in his first declaration informing Guatemala of the arrival of the coronavirus to Guatemala, President Alejandro Giammattei requested that Mexico suspend the deportations of Guatemalan nationals in the context of the global pandemic. The President made no comment about deportations from the United States.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe following week, on March 17, the daily deportation flights were temporarily suspended. Pedro Brolo, Guatemala\u2019s Minister of Foreign Relations, stated that the country would no longer receive Hondurans and Salvadorans deported to Guatemala as part of the Asylum Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Guatemala. The agreement, reached in July 2019 amidst \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/americas\/2019\/07\/guatemalan-groups-migration-agreement-illegal-190727051257972.html\"\u003Eoutcry\u003C\/a\u003E against what was seen as former President Jimmy Morales\u2019s acquiescence to U.S. demands, establishes Guatemala as a country willing to receive people who had intended to seek asylum in the United States. Though Giammattei\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2020\/01\/guatemalan-president-takes-office-asylum-deal-controversy-200114232431180.html\"\u003E initially criticized\u003C\/a\u003E the agreement as a candidate, declaring that he would renegotiate the terms, over 900 Hondurans and Salvadorans have been sent to Guatemala as of last fall.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ETwo days later, by March 19, the deportation flights from the United States carrying only Guatemalans were renewed. According to Guatemalan officials, new screening protocols were put in place to guarantee the health of migrants. The new protocols require every migrant receive a series of health screenings, including the taking of temperatures, prior to deportation. Those who present a high fever are supposed to be removed and sent to a healthcare provider.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EGuatemalan officials requested \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-health-coronavirus-guatemala\/guatemala-seeks-curbs-on-u-s-deportation-of-immigrants-idUSKBN21O06V\"\u003Eon April 5\u003C\/a\u003E that the Trump administration limit deportation flights to 25 people per flight, but the Trump administration has not complied with the request.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOfficials within the Trump administration have maintained that they are dedicated to guaranteeing the health of detained migrants. \u201cICE is certainly committed to ensuring that comprehensive medical care is provided for all of their detainees from the moment they arrive in ICE custody through the entirety of their stay,\u201d Acting Deputy Homeland Security Director Ken Cuccinelli told reporters on April 14.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBut deported migrants, as well as migrant rights advocates and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.oig.dhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/assets\/2019-06\/OIG-19-47-Jun19.pdf\"\u003Einternal\u003C\/a\u003E DHS watchdog\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.oig.dhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/assets\/2019-07\/OIG-19-51-Jul19_.pdf\"\u003E reports\u003C\/a\u003E, have decried the health conditions within detention facilities.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EUpon arriving at the \u201cwelcome center\u201d next to the Guatemalan air force base, which sits across from the Aurora International Airport, migrants receive another medical check prior to being processed. According to an official from the Guatemalan Institute of Migration, the deportees are then taken by buses contracted by the government to their homes, where they are placed in quarantine.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs cases of COVID-19 continue to be found among migrants, concerns have been raised about the quality of health screenings that deportees receive upon arrival. Faced with the crisis, the centrist Semilla party launched a bill in the Guatemalan congress that would push to expand the clinic in the reception facility. According to Ligia Hern\u00e1ndez, a congressional representative with Semilla, who serves on the Migrant Commission, and who presented the bill, the clinic lacked medicine and materials needed to respond to migrants\u2019 needs.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBut even Semilla\u2019s proposed measures may not be enough to stop the spread of the virus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cHow are we going to know if they arrive without symptoms?\u201d asked Father Carbajal. \u201cThey could arrive to their community in Chimaltenango, and it could affect others. [The deportations] are like a weapon. They need to guarantee their health in order not to put their community and their family at risk.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E"}