Throughout the last few months, 100 Guatemalans who were infected with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) were deported from the United States. The deportees were tested before getting on their flights. Immigration checked temperatures and checked for symptoms of the virus but were not actually tested for the virus until this past week.
More and more deportations are taking place within detention centers due to overcrowding and unsanitary conditions as a result of the spread of the virus. Although there have been more border closures in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, deportations have been made complicated. In the continuation of these deportations, some say that they are concerned that without proper testing, the spread of the virus will continue to increase in the already weak health systems in Central American countries.
According to Mexico’s National Migration Institute, they say that migrants are being checked by health professionals, their temperatures are being taken, and they are giving out sanitizing gels and masks for the deportees to take with them on their trip back. They never came out and said anything about testing for COVID-19. In Guatemala, there have been a total of 644 cases with 16 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID tracker. They state that one-fifth of these cases are related to the deportees that came back into their country. The deportees are scared and most fighting for their lives because they feel as if they may be the ones that brought the virus into their country and as a result, they are undergoing threats and harassment from those around them.
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