Trump Administration Deports 21 Belizeans on First-Ever U.S. Charter Flight

Tonight, twenty-one Belizeans are back on home soil after arriving on a historic charter flight from the United States. While deportations are nothing new, this marks the first time a large group has been returned on a single, specially arranged flight, a clear reflection of the Trump administration’s tough stance on immigration. For many of these individuals, the journey to the U.S. was a bid for a better life, a story that hits close to home for countless Belizean families. A few had served time for criminal offenses, but most were simply caught in the tightening grip of U.S. immigration policy. News Five’s Paul Lopez was at the Phillip Goldson International Airport and takes a closer look at what this moment means for those returning, and for the country they’ve come back to.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

This morning, the largest group of Belizeans ever deported from the U.S. arrived at the Philip Goldson International Airport on a special charter flight, the first of its kind. Among them was a young man who had spent three years in the U.S. after entering illegally and seeking asylum. His application was denied, and he was detained by ICE in Michigan just three weeks ago. According to U.S. Embassy spokesperson Luke Martin, his story reflects the harsh reality many deportees now face under stricter immigration enforcement.

 

Luke Martin, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy

“As you know this flight came, charter flight from the United States to Belize. Normally these individuals comes by commercial air so this is the first time we have had a charter plane with deportees coming to Belize.  As far as the numbers go we have about twenty. It is a whole issue of due process. It is not like they were scooped up on the street and put in a plane, everybody has a right to due process, went to court, had their hearing, appeals, so this happened by legal means.”

 

The chartered aircraft didn’t just stop here, it continued to Chile and Peru to deport more individuals. This multi-country deportation flight is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration, a policy that’s been in place since January 2020. While twenty-one deportees may seem like a lot for Belize, it’s a small number compared to countries like Guatemala, which sees tens of thousands of its citizens deported from the U.S. each year.

 

Paul Lopez

“This is not a case where an operation under the Trump administration led to the detention of these individuals?”

 

Luke Martin

“That is a great question, so no this is not knocking down doors and entering people’s houses. These are all people that entered the United States illegally, the majority of them had crossed into the United States illegally, the rest of them had overstayed their visas as well and the majority of them did have some kind of criminal offense in the United States as well.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Is their an active pursuit of Belizeans at this time?”

 

Luke Martin

“I think what you mean by that, breaking down doors and scooping people up, no that is not something we are seeing. Everybody on this flight was illegally in the United States and many of them had charges ranging from burglary to attempted, so there were some serious offenders from both government’s perspective as well.”

 

Today, the Government of Belize issued a statement confirming that the twenty-one Belizeans deported from the U.S. will be treated just like any other citizen returning home through repatriation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that all Belizeans, regardless of their immigration status, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, in line with international law.

 

Luke Martin

“In a lot of way this is a new message for Belize. I think other Central American countries have heard this before throughout the years that illegal immigration is something that is not tolerated. This has always been the law. The difference here is that it is a different optic with a charter plane coming in. Everybody notices, it is big news, but still illegal immigration is not something that will be tolerated. There is a zero-tolerance policy but still there is due process, legal appeals, people have the right to do that for different reasons.”

 

Reporter

“Will we be seeing more of these types of flight?”

 

Luke Martin

“I think my guess, and I am just taking a guess on this, yes. If the administration is moving towards charter flights, it is more cost effective to have a number of people rather than just one off, two off American or United flights coming here.”

 

The Government of Belize has made it clear: no matter the circumstances, all Belizeans abroad are welcome home. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.