US Embassy in Guatemala Launches Anti-Migration Initiative

The United States embassy in Guatemala is trying to scare nationals from migrating to the U.S., tweeting: “So far this year more than 30,000 people have been returned. Do not be another number." 

In an effort to enforce President Donald Trump’s exclusionary migration policies and practices, the U.S. embassy in Guatemala this week launched, "Operation Governance for Irregular Migration" to deter residents from there to seek asylum, reunite with family, or work in the U.S.

RELATED:  
'Help, 40 Days Here!', Migrants in US Border Facilities: Images

"Every week, the United States deports hundreds of Guatemalan migrants trying to enter or remain illegally in the country,” says the official embassy Twitter account. Under the slogan "do not be one more, do not travel illegally to the north," U.S. diplomatic officials in Guatemala City reported to the public that the U.S. had deported 1,153 Guatemalans this week alone.

The Guatemalan Migration Institute reports that in the first six months of 2019 the number of deportees from the United States increased by 13.92 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, when a record number were returned. In real numbers, U.S. authorities returned 28,896 citizens of the Central American country to the country, of whom 25,645 are men, 3,013 women and 238 minors.

This figure is slightly higher than in the first six months of last year, when the United States deported 25,366 Guatemalan immigrants in the same period, reaching 51,376 in December, a record number.

The initiative comes as the president called for an uptick in ICE raids across the nation in late June, when he officially announced his rerun as head of state for 2020 polls.  ​​​​​​​

U.S. immigration officials also recently purged some 12,800 people from the fast-tracked asylum docket, a process that can typically take years, for not showing up to their court dates. These applicants have been ordered deported. Over the years, immigrants and asylum seekers have said U.S.-issued immigration court date notices are unclear and confusing, resulting in thousands of missed hearings.

The total number of deportations from Mexico in June was 21,912, up from 16,507 in May, according to the nation's migration authority, says France 24. The major increase came just as the Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) administration bowed to U.S. pressure to do whatever necessary to stop traveling migrants before they reach the U.S. border, or risk a five percent tariff increase on all Mexican goods entering the U.S. 

Guatemala is part, along with Honduras and El Salvador, of the Northern Triangle of Central America, and is one of the poorest and most violent areas of the world due to the presence of U.S. political intervention, government corruption, the overuse of state security forces, climate change, high unemployment, and organized crime.​​​​​​​