Guatemala announced plans on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, to build a new center for deported migrants near its border with Mexico, a project funded by a $2 million USAID grant despite the agency facing steep cuts under President Donald Trump. Set to open in mid-2026 in the border hub of Tecún Umán, the facility aims to process up to 250 deportees at a time, offering a smoother landing for Guatemalans and others sent back from the United States.
President Bernardo Arevalo, keen to stay on good terms with Trump’s administration, framed the center as a compassionate move. “We’re ensuring the best possible conditions so deportees are welcomed with open arms,” he said during a visit to the border alongside Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which will oversee construction. The announcement comes as Guatemala ramps up its role in U.S. immigration policy, following a February 5 deal with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to accept third-country migrants—part of Trump’s broader deportation strategy.
The U.S. deported 66,000 Guatemalans in 2024, a number poised to grow with Trump’s pledge to escalate removals. Guatemala has agreed to a 40% increase in deportation flights, with the new center complementing an existing reception site near La Aurora Air Force Base. Located where migrants cross from Mexico’s Ciudad Hidalgo, Tecún Umán is a strategic spot to handle the influx.
Yet the project’s funding source, USAID, is under fire. Since Trump’s January return, he’s slashed 83% of USAID contracts, freezing foreign aid for review. The $2 million, allocated in 2020, slipped through the cuts, but the agency’s future hangs in the balance. Danilo Rivera, head of Guatemala’s Migration Institute, insists the center’s on track, a lifeline for deportees amid a shifting U.S. immigration landscape.
