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”.
More than 3,500 unauthorised immigrants have been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Additionally, US military aircraft that transport migrants to their countries of origin or third countries have begun to fly deportation flights.
According to estimates from the Pew Research Center, the US has 341 million people and has 11 million unauthorised immigrants.
Here is a look at how various nations that Trump has targeted for immigration are responding to his threats by bending to his demands, attempting to negotiate own deals, and occasionally by reversing and suggesting they might instead seek stronger ties with China.
Mexico
According to Pew estimates, there were more than four million illegal immigrants from Mexico in the US as of 2022.
Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the US southern border, which shares Mexico with him on his inauguration day. 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. Additionally, Trump designated the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in an executive order.
Mexico has agreed to deport Mexicans by US deportation. The administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has established a “Mexico Embraces You” program where deportees will receive food, medical care, and assistance in addition to obtaining Mexican documents.
Sheinbaum stated on January 22 that the US would not deport non-Mexican immigrants. However, she claimed in a statement on Monday that her country had received 4,000 or fewer deportees, primarily Mexican citizens, despite this fact.
Mexico reportedly refused a deportation flight last week, according to US news reports, but details of how that transpired are uncertain.
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.
Over the weekend, there was a brief standoff between Colombia and the US over deportation flights. Petro, the president of Colombia, rebuffed President Petro’s request to allow two US military aircraft carrying deported Colombian citizens to land in his nation.
Petro claimed that Trump was not treating the detainees with respect, and that he had shared a video on X of deported Americans holding their hands and feet in brazil.
The spat quickly escalated, with Trump threatening , tariffs on Colombian goods and visa restrictions on Colombian officials. Petro responded by saying that US products would be subject to tariffs.
Late on Sunday, Colombia’s foreign minister Luis Gilberto Murillo announced that the country’s authorities had “overcomed the impasse,” would accept the deportees sent by the US, and that Colombia’s presidential plane was on hand to assist with the return of Colombians.
Colombia consented to “unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia who have flown from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without restriction or delay,” according to the White House.
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. Immigrants from Taiwan and Hong Kong are also included in that figure.  ,
On Monday, China stated that it would only accept deported people from mainland China.
“Regarding the repatriation, China’s principle is to verify first and then repatriate. On Monday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese government, told reporters in Beijing. “We will accept Chinese citizens who have been verified to be from the Chinese mainland,” she said.
Mainland China does not include Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. China claims Taiwan, a self-governing territory, as a province. Mao did not explain Beijing’s intention to only accept mainland migrants back.
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 had phone conversations on Monday and discussed topics like immigration, according to Trump, who addressed 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.
We oppose illegal immigration, especially because it is linked to a number of forms of organized crime, said India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal during a weekly press conference on January 24.
If an Indian national is overstaying or is staying in a particular country without proper documentation, according to Jaiswal, “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.
American and Guatemalan officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, reported to Reuters that a US military aircraft carrying 64 immigrants landed in Guatemala on Monday afternoon.
Guatemala has flown on a third US military aircraft since last Friday, with immigrants aboard.
Toward the end of December 2024, Reuters reported that Guatemala was ready to accept deportations from Guatemala and other Central American nations. However, Guatemalan immigrants would be given priority for re-integration, a Guatemalan official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Honduras
According to Pew estimates, there are 525, 000 illegal immigrants from Honduras in the US as of 2022.
But unlike most other nations — large or small — Honduras has so far pushed back on Trump’s planned deportations.
We would have to consider changing our policies of cooperation with the United States, especially in the military, as President Xiomara Castro vowed to close a US military base there on January 1.
Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina acknowledged the support his nation has traditionally received from the US in an interview with local media on January 22.
Less than two years ago, Honduras formally endorsed China in March 2023. Before this switch, Honduras and Taiwan had a long history of diplomatic contact. 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 since suspended all of his foreign aid, excluding Israel and Egypt.
Brazil
As of 2022, there were 230, 000 unauthorised immigrants from Brazil , in the US, according to Pew estimates.
A plane carrying 88 Brazilian deportees from the US was scheduled to land in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state, on Friday. It abruptly stopped in Manaus, Brazil’s state capital, where handcuffs were removed from deportees.
The deportees were transported to Belo Horizonte by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s plane, which was designated by the Brazilian Air Force. According to Brazilian federal police, this was the second deportation flight to Brazil on a US military aircraft since Trump’s election.
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.
Since Trump took office this month, according to officials with the Pilipino embassy in Washington, DC, there haven’t been any reports of Filipinos being detained or detained.
Source: Aljazeera
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