Guatemala Refusing To Harbor Illegals As Title 42 Ends

According to the spokesperson for the Guatemalan president, the government of Guatemala wishes to convey to the Biden administration that it will not be accommodating unauthorized migrants after the forthcoming termination of Title 42, a policy implemented during the Trump presidency to expel migrants.

On April 27, the Biden administration declared that the United States would establish migrant processing facilities in Guatemala and Colombia in an effort to mitigate the anticipated surge of migrants at the Mexican border, which is expected to happen once Title 42 expires on May 11.

According to Kevin Lopez Oliva, the spokesperson for President Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala, the country is apprehensive about the impending increase of migrants after the end of Title 42 and the potential impact of the United States’ new policies.

Lopez Olivia told the Daily Caller, “We just want to make something clear: we are not going to be a safe third country. However, we remain the only ally to the United States in terms of immigration enforcement because Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the rest of Central America, they are just letting everyone pass through. But we are still stopping the caravans, we’re still enforcing our laws in our borders.”

In October, President Giammattei disclosed that Guatemala had previously requested planes and buses from the Biden administration to facilitate the deportation of migrants; however, the U.S. declined the appeal.

Lopez Oliva stated, “Last year, we increased the penalties for the human smuggling, and human smugglers know this, and therefore, the caravans are forming in Mexico, not in Guatemala. But we need more help definitely. And we are expecting an influx of people coming due to the lifting of the Title 42, and we’re doing our best, but we cannot do it alone. We’re preparing with sending our military forces to the border, the police is already in the other border as well in order to stop caravans.”

The mayors of several American border cities across from Mexico are getting a preview of what could be in store after May 11. On Monday, the mayor of El Paso, Texas, declared a state of emergency due to the situation.

He said, “We’re getting prepared now for what we call the unknown. And the unknown is what will happen after May 11.”