Days after the Trump administration threatened Central American countries with visa sanctions if they refuse to accept nationals who are deported from the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic, the Guatemalan health minister said an estimated 75% of the people on one deportation flight from the U.S. later tested positive for the virus.
Health Minister Hugo Monroy’s claim raised fears that the U.S. is willfully sending sick people back to the countries they left, creating conditions for larger outbreaks in countries including Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
The U.S., which is now the epicenter of the global pandemic with more than 600,000 cases, resumed deportations on Monday after a week-long pause due to fears that ill migrants might spread the coronavirus to others on deportation flights. The Trump administration sent two flights with a total of 182 people to Guatemala Monday.Defend democracy. Click to invest in courageous progressive journalism today.
Before the flights resumed, the Guatemalan government reported that at least three nationals deported from the U.S. later tested positive for […]
The immigrants being sent away should be tested first: that’s plain and simple and compassionate logic, something Trump does not have. If they test positive, they should receive treatment and not exposed close to other people who could get the virus.