The percentage of deportees infected with COVID-19 increases

Due to the arrival of the Coronavirus in the US, Trump’s government decided to close the borders and temporarily prohibit the entry of immigrants.

Therefore, any immigrant who currently reaches the borders is deported almost immediately.

Normally, most deported immigrants are taken to Guatemala where they can apply for asylum or wait to be deported to their countries.

However, Guatemala asked the US to deport only Guatemala’s legal citizens, at least temporarily, to prevent a massive spread in its territory.

The reason for this request is that Guatemala does not have enough supplies to protect the health of its population. That means that a high contagion peak could create an irreversible catharsis in the country.

Despite this petition, the US has deported a considerable percentage of infected immigrants  to Guatemala.

This is an unprecedented threat to Central American territory that cannot withstand such a severe health crisis.

The latest reports

The latest official reports from the Guatemalan medical sector show that 20% of COVID-19 cases in the country are from immigrants deported from the US.

The current figures show a total of 557 confirmed cases in Guatemala.

That means that approximately 112 confirmed cases are immigrants deported from the US.

The threat that Guatemala faces is concerning for several reasons:

• The infrastructure of the medical sector would not be able to handle a massive outbreak of Coronavirus.
• The medical staff is not large enough to offset the number of positive cases.
• The economic crisis could be abysmal if there is a massive spread of the virus in the country.
• Guatemala does not have a enough supplies to protect health workers for a long period of time.
• Millions of Guatemalan citizens live from their daily work and would be left without any financial support during the health crisis.

Therefore, the repercussions of deporting Coronavirus-infected immigrants to Guatemala affects the entire Central American territory and the socio-economic decline could be almost irreversible.

The sanitary measures of both countries

In order to continue with deportations in the midst of the pandemic, the US and Guatemala created a strategy to protect both countries.

The US’ responsibility

The US performs a medical intervention and checks the temperature of immigrants before deporting them.

If an immigrant exceeds the normal body temperature limit, he/she is taken to a medical center or isolated in quarantine until symptoms subside.

However, it seems that there are not enough tests to screen all immigrants before deporting them.

Guatemala’s responsibility

When deported immigrants arrive in Guatemala, the medical personnel have strict checkup measures and check the temperature as well.

Deportees are isolated in a temporary shelter built at the airport of the country’s capital.

They must remain there for several days until healthcare workers rule out possible positive cases.

However, most infected deportees show symptoms after arriving in Guatemala, while they are quarantined at the airport.

What could be a possible solution?

There are several possible solutions that could help mitigate the number of infected immigrants who are deported to Guatemala.

1. The US has offered monetary aid to Guatemala during the health crisis to reduce illegal immigration by offering public benefits to the native Central Americans.
   Trump’s government assures that there would not be as much illegal immigration if the countries of Central America offered a better quality of life to their inhabitants.
2. There are several alternatives that you can use to avoid precarious situations for you and your family. For example, the best recommendation is that you seek specialized help to organize your immigration case correctly and avoid deportation at all costs.

Therefore, if you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.