Mexico has asked Washington to return deported Mexicans directly, after thousands were sent through Guatemala and other countries.

Mexico has protested to the United States over the deportation of Mexican citizens through third countries, urging Washington to continue returning them directly under existing bilateral arrangements.

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Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Friday that she raised the issue with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson on Thursday. She said Mexico remains willing to receive its nationals directly.

“We respect the decisions other countries make on migration policy, but we do not agree that our nationals should be transferred to a third country before reaching Mexico, because we are receiving them directly under an agreement we have with them,” Rodríguez said at the morning presidential news conference. She was filling in for President Claudia Sheinbaum, who was suffering from flu symptoms.

Text Reads: 🚨 Mexico rejects the transfer of compatriots to third countries. Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez presented the position to the U.S. Ambassador, Ronald Johnson. 🇲🇽

Rodríguez said the United States has been sending Mexican deportees to Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. Mexico wants Washington to continue using the existing bilateral mechanisms rather than routing Mexican citizens through other countries.

“If there is an agreement, we should continue under that agreement. We do not need them to be sent to a third country,” she said.

Guatemala reports sharp rise in Mexican deportees

Mexico’s protest follows confirmation by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo that about 2,300 deported Mexicans had been sent to Guatemala so far in 2026, compared with 15 in 2025.

The Mexicans arrive on U.S. flights alongside Guatemalan citizens who have also been expelled. They remain in Guatemala for less than 24 hours before continuing overland to Mexico.

Arévalo said Guatemala is not acting as a “safe third country” in these cases because the migrants are only passing through.

The United States has also sent Mexican deportees to Honduras under the Trump administration’s policy of deportations to third countries.

Mexico cites continued migration cooperation

Despite the dispute, Rodríguez described relations with Washington as “cordial” and “respectful.” She pointed to daily coordination between Mexico’s National Migration Institute and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on migration, as well as cooperation on security and trade.

Security issues in the region and the follow-up to bilateral agreements were also discussed during her meeting with Johnson.

Rodríguez said irregular migration toward the United States had fallen by 96%, including both Mexican and foreign migrants. Encounters recorded by U.S. border authorities fell by 97.5%, from 305,608 in December 2023 to 5,433 in May.

Rodríguez also reported on a three-day visit to five municipalities in Michoacán, where she met berry producers, representatives of the Catholic Church and local communities to assess social conditions beyond security operations.

She said the visits focused on addressing social causes, including efforts under the National Security Strategy to expand educational and employment opportunities for young people.

Mexico’s protest comes as the two countries continue to coordinate on migration while Mexico maintains that deported Mexican citizens should be returned directly under the bilateral mechanisms already in place.

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