Donald Trump's homeland security chief has warned Guatemalans not to waste their money trying to get to the US illegally, detailing how his department is cracking down on undocumented immigrants and speeding up deportations.
Speaking at an event in Guatemala City after he greeted a plane full of people deported back from the US, John Kelly said US authorities were not carrying out mass deportations of immigrants and would follow the law.
But he stressed that deportees would be returned their home countries more quickly than in the past.
"If you're a Guatemalan who is considering paying a great deal of money to a coyote (smuggler) to bring you to the United States, you'll be wasting your money," Kelly said on Wednesday at a Guatemalan Air Force base where 347 deportees earlier arrived on a flight.
"You will be returned very quickly," he said.
Kelly left Guatemala shortly after speaking to reporters, headed for Mexico where he and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson were expected to explain new US immigration measures to their counterparts.
US immigration courts have a large backlog of cases, meaning it can take years to deport some undocumented immigrants.
In recent years, tens of thousands of Central American children and families have moved to the US, many seeking asylum from ruthless street gangs.
Kelly made his comments a day after his department said it planned to deport non-Mexican irregular immigrants to Mexico, regardless of their nationality.
The plan angered Mexican officials, with their lead negotiator and Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray saying there was no way Mexico would accept it.
Meanwhile, the White House has pushed back the release of a new executive order to replace its directive suspending travel to the US by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries, a White House official said on Wednesday.
The order is now expected to be issued "some time next week", the official said.
President Donald Trump said last week he expected to release the new order this week.
Trump said the new directive would address legal concerns raised in Washington state, San Francisco, and elsewhere about the original order, which was issued on January 27.
The order, which was quickly implemented, caused chaos at airports around the world as visa holders heading to the United States were pulled off planes or turned around upon arrival at US airports.
Share
