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Law360 (March 19, 2020, 4:31 PM EDT) -- Days after announcing the suspension of deportation flights from the United States due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, the government of Guatemala said Thursday morning that flights would resume immediately.
According to multiple news outlets, Guatemala said that flights from the United States would be allowed to resume, but only for its own citizens. Deportees from Honduras and El Salvador, which were previously accepted under an agreement with the Trump administration, are still prohibited.
Guatemala said Tuesday that the flights would be suspended until the United States establishes measures to ensure that migrants with COVID-19 symptoms aren't being sent back to their home countries.
The first of the resumed deportation flights arrived from Brownsville, Texas, with 99 Guatemalan nationals aboard, and according to the Guatemalan government, they were ordered to self-quarantine upon arrival.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson declined to confirm the resumption of flights to Guatemala, however, a provided statement said the agency is working with foreign governments to ensure deportations continue despite the coronavirus outbreak.
"ICE works both directly with foreign governments and through the Department of State to address the situation and ICE's expectation is that each country will continue to meet its international obligation to accept its own nationals," the statement said.
Under the "asylum cooperative agreement" signed with the U.S. last year, the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador agreed to serve as "safe third countries" and accept certain refugees seeking asylum in the United States. Since the policy went into effect, nearly 1,000 migrants from Honduras and El Salvador have been accepted by Guatemala.
The Trump administration has also made plans to send Mexican nationals to those countries under the same policy.
A representative for Guatemala didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
--Additional reporting by Suzanne Monyak and Alyssa Aquino. Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.
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