How are Trump’s deportation targets reacting to his threats? | Donald Trump News

A week into his second term, United States President Donald Trump has intensified his crackdown on immigration, building on his campaign promise of carrying out “the largest deportation in American history”.

Since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested more than 3,500 unauthorised immigrants across the US. The Trump administration has also started sending deportation flights — US military aircraft carrying migrants to their countries of origin or third nations.

There are 11 million unauthorised immigrants in the US, which has a population of 341 million, according to estimates by the Pew Research Center.

Here is a look at how several countries that have been targeted by Trump over migration are responding to his threats — by bending to his demands, trying to negotiate their own deals, and in some cases by pushing back and suggesting that they might instead seek stronger ties with China.

Mexico

As of 2022, there were more than four million unauthorised immigrants from Mexico in the US, according to Pew estimates.

On his inauguration day, Trump signed an executive action declaring a national emergency at the US southern border that it shares with Mexico. The US military has begun to send 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order designating international drug cartels as “terrorist organisations,” specifically mentioning Mexico. Trump also signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

Mexico has agreed to take Mexicans deported by the US. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration has established a deportee support program called “Mexico Embraces You” under which the deportees will receive food, medical care and help obtaining Mexican documents.

Sheinbaum declared on January 22 that Mexico would not accept non-Mexican immigrants deported by the US. But she issued a statement Monday saying her country had received an estimated 4,094 deportees, including citizens of other countries, though Mexicans represented a majority of them.

US news reports have said that Mexico refused a deportation flight last week, but the circumstances of how that unfolded are unclear.

El Salvador

Pew estimates say that as of 2022, there were 750,000 unauthorised Salvadorian immigrants from in the US, the second-highest number after unauthorised Mexicans.

Trump is negotiating with El Salvador for the Central American country to also take in immigrants deported by the US who are not from El Salvador. It would allow them to seek asylum in El Salvador.

Trump was working on this agreement during his first term, but it was never executed and was not pursued by Joe Biden’s administration.

The agreement, if it comes into effect, would also cover undocumented migrants from countries like Venezuela, which do not accept deportees from the US at the moment. There were 275,000 unauthorised Venezuelan immigrants in the US as of 2022, according to the Pew estimates.

Colombia

As of 2022, there were 190,000 unauthorised immigrants from Colombia in the US, according to Pew estimates.

Colombia and the US over the weekend had a brief standoff over the issue of deportation flights. It started when Colombian President Petro refused to allow two US military aircraft filled with deported Colombian citizens to land in his country.

Petro said Trump was not treating the immigrants with respect, sharing a video on X showing deportees from the US in an airport in Brazil, with their hands and feet restrained.

The spat quickly escalated, with Trump threatening tariffs on Colombian goods and visa restrictions on Colombian officials. Petro countered by saying he would impose tariffs on US goods.

Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo announced late Sunday that officials had “overcome the impasse” and would accept the deportees sent by the US and had Colombia’s presidential plane standing by to help get the Colombians home.

The White House said Colombia agreed to “unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay”.

The first of the two planes carrying Colombian deportees landed in the capital, Bogota, early on Tuesday, according to local media reports.

China

As of 2022, there were 375,000 unauthorised immigrants from China in the US, according to Pew estimates. That figure also includes migrants from Hong Kong and Taiwan. 

China on Monday said it would only accept deportees who are from mainland China.

“Regarding the repatriation, China’s principle is to verify first and then repatriate. We will accept Chinese citizens who are verified to be from the Chinese mainland,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing on Monday.

Mainland China does not include Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. China claims Taiwan, a self-governing territory, as a province. Mao did not explain why Beijing plans to only take back migrants from the mainland.

India

As of 2022, there were 725,000 unauthorised immigrants from India in the US, according to Pew estimates, the third-highest number after Mexico and El Salvador.

Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on Monday on the phone and discussed issues including immigration, Trump said during his address to House Republicans in Florida on the same day.

Trump did not provide details but said India “will do what’s right” on illegal immigration, adding that Modi would visit the US in February.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly media briefing on January 24: “We are against illegal immigration, especially because it is linked to several forms of organised crime.”

Jaiswal said that “if they are Indian nationals, and they are overstaying or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back, provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality that they are indeed Indians.”

Guatemala

Pew estimates say that as of 2022, there were 675,000 unauthorised immigrants from Guatemala in the US.

A US military aircraft carrying 64 immigrants flew from Texas and landed in Guatemala on Monday afternoon, American and Guatemalan officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

It was the third US military flight that Guatemala has received with immigrants on board since last Friday.

In late December 2024, Reuters reported that Guatemala is open to receiving deportees from Guatemala and other Central American countries. However, Guatemalan immigrants would be given priority for re-integration, a Guatemalan official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Honduras

Pew estimates say that as of 2022, there are 525,000 unauthorised immigrants from Honduras in the US.

But unlike most other nations — large or small — Honduras has so far pushed back on Trump’s planned deportations.

President Xiomara Castro said on January 1: “Faced with a hostile attitude of mass expulsion of our brothers, we would have to consider a change in our policies of cooperation with the United States, especially in the military arena,” threatening to shut down a US military base in the country.

Amid pressure from the US, Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina said in an interview with local media on January 22 that the Central American country might seek increased support from countries including China — while acknowledging the support his country has traditionally received from the US.

Honduras switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China in March 2023, less than two years ago. Honduras and Taiwan maintained diplomatic relations for decades before this switch. Beijing’s “One China Policy” requires all nations to choose between China and Taiwan as a diplomatic partner.

From fiscal years 2020 to 2023, the US Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided Honduras with $785m in assistance. The US is Honduras’s biggest aid provider, according to international NGO Global Witness. Trump has now suspended foreign aid to all nations other than Israel and Egypt.

Brazil

As of 2022, there were 230,000 unauthorised immigrants from Brazil in the US, according to Pew estimates.

On Friday, a flight carrying 88 Brazilian deportees from the US was supposed to land in the city of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais state. It made an unexpected stop in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, where Brazilian authorities removed handcuffs from the deportees.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva designated a Brazilian Air Force plane to take the deportees to Belo Horizonte. This was the second deportation flight to Brazil using a US military plane since Trump took office, according to Brazilian federal police.

On Saturday, a day later, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote a post on X demanding an explanation from the US on the “degrading treatment” of Brazilians on the flight.

Philippines

As of 2022, there were 130,000 unauthorised immigrants from the Philippines in the US, according to Pew estimates.

Officials with the Pilipino embassy in Washington, DC on Monday said that they had not yet received any reports of Filipinos being arrested or detained since Trump took office this month.

The Filipino ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez, has repeatedly asked unauthorised Filipino immigrants in the US to leave the country and not wait for deportation, Philippines media reported.