Dozens of Guatemalan migrants landed back in their home country this week, deported under Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown.
Many had spent years, even decades, in the United States, working and raising families—only to be sent back with little more than a plastic bag of belongings and the weight of an uncertain future.
A Bitter Return with a Sweet Welcome
As the deportation flight touched down in Guatemala City, the scene was a stark contrast to the cold detention centers they had left behind. Instead of shackles and interrogation rooms, Guatemala’s Vice President Karin Herrera greeted them with coffee and cookies, offering a warm—but symbolic—gesture of support.
Authorities say these repatriation flights have been a regular occurrence, but the use of military planes under Trump’s administration marks a shift in policy.
While some returnees were escorted in handcuffs, facing legal cases back home, most were simply undocumented migrants—people who had built lives in the U.S. but lacked the papers to stay.
“It Feels Dangerous in the U.S. Now”
For some, like Sara Tot-Botoz, the deportation was a final chapter in her American dream. After ten years in Alabama, working in construction, roofing, and auto repair, she was pulled over by police for a car seat violation.
That minor traffic stop uncovered her immigration status, leading to two months in jail and five months in ICE detention.
Now back in Guatemala, she says she has no plans to return. Instead, her focus is on reuniting with her family and reconnecting with her indigenous community.
“It feels dangerous in the U.S. now,” Tot-Botoz said, adding that undocumented migrants could be picked up anywhere, at any time.
A Lingering American Dream
Not everyone is ready to move on. Fidel Ambrocio, who lived in the U.S. for 19 years, was deported after being detained on an old trespassing warrant linked to a past domestic dispute. With a wife, a four-year-old daughter, and a newborn son still in Alabama, his mind is already on how to return.
“We’re not criminals,” he insisted, frustrated that the new deportation wave is targeting migrants who aren’t violent offenders.
Ambrocio legally has to wait ten years before applying for a visa, but he’s already considering other ways to return—whether legal or not. If that fails, he says, his only option is to bring his wife and children to Guatemala, though he admits that would be extremely difficult.
The Start of a Bigger Crackdown?
With Trump’s mass deportation policies kicking into high gear, many fear that this is just the beginning. The new administration has vowed to remove millions of undocumented immigrants, meaning flights like this one could soon become a regular occurrence.
For now, these newly deported Guatemalans must figure out what comes next—whether that means rebuilding their lives at home or finding a way back to the country they still consider their own.
