(GUATEMALA) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flew the final deportation flights of 2025 into Guatemala on December 31, closing a year the Department of Homeland Security described as a record-setting drive to remove “criminal illegal aliens.”
The year-end flights arrived after DHS and ICE cast the late-December operations as part of a broader push to meet the administration’s mass deportation objectives. Officials pointed to rising detention numbers and a mix of forced removals and self-departures.
Year-end enforcement messaging and official statements
“While Americans across the country spent time with their families this Christmas season, ICE continued delivering the American people the greatest gift of 2025: getting criminals out of our neighborhoods and protecting our families,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in a December 29, 2025 statement.
“ICE officers arrested heinous criminal illegal aliens yesterday, including murderers and monsters who sexually abused children. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, criminal illegal aliens have NO PLACE in our country.”
DHS framed the enforcement totals as evidence that enforcement messaging was driving exits in addition to removals. In a December 10, 2025 statement, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said:
“The Trump Administration is shattering historic records with more than 2.5 million illegal aliens leaving the U.S. DHS has deported more than 605,000 illegal aliens and another 1.9 million have self-deported. Illegal aliens are hearing our message to leave now. They know if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return.”
Deportation totals and Guatemala’s role
- DHS reported more than 605,000 formal deportations as of December 2025.
- Officials also cited approximately 1.9 million self-deportations, bringing the total to over 2.5 million individuals leaving the U.S. since January 20, 2025.
Guatemala was a major destination throughout the year, receiving roughly one-quarter of all deportation flights in 2025. For example, in September 2025 U.S. officials removed 4,784 individuals to Guatemala on 55 flights.
The final flights arriving on December 31, 2025 marked the close of the calendar year’s operations, although DHS deadlines and policy changes extend consequences into January 2026.
Detention levels and reported conditions
DHS also reported record levels of immigration detention late in the year:
- More than 68,400 individuals were in custody as of December 14, 2025, an all-time high per DHS reporting.
- Reports indicated a rise in deaths in ICE custody, reaching 32 deaths by December 2025—the highest number since 2004.
Concerns about detention conditions rose as custody levels expanded alongside increased enforcement.
Incentives and program rollbacks
Alongside the enforcement ramp-up, the administration offered a late-December self-deportation incentive:
- $3,000 stipend plus a free flight home
- Tied to sign-ups through the “CBP Home” app by the end of the year
At the same time, policy rollbacks changed the legal landscape for many nationals:
- On December 12, 2025, USCIS announced the termination of all categorical Family Reunification Parole (FRP) programs for nationals of Guatemala, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras.
- USCIS set January 14, 2026 as the date parole for affected individuals will officially terminate, unless they had a pending green card application (Form I-485) filed by December 15, 2025.
These changes introduced a compressed procedural window for families attempting to secure alternative lawful paths before parole ends.
“Worst of the Worst” database and publicizing arrests
DHS launched a “Worst of the Worst” database intended to publicize arrests of criminal illegal aliens, including many deported on the final flights to Guatemala. The database was launched at Worst of the Worst database.
Composition of deportation flights and wider impacts
While DHS highlighted removals of people it described as criminals, reporting indicated the makeup of 2025 deportation flights to Guatemala shifted:
- Flights increasingly included individuals who had lived in the U.S. for decades and who had U.S.-citizen children, rather than focusing solely on recent border crossers.
- The rescission of programs like FRP and Temporary Protected Status moved thousands from legal status into being “eligible for deportation,” widening the pool of people at risk of removal proceedings or targeted arrest.
The scale of removals and pace of policy changes created a rapid end-of-year convergence for Guatemala, which already accounted for roughly one-quarter of deportation flights in 2025.
Reporting and public resources
DHS has routed public updates and statistics through its official pages:
USCIS posted related notices through its alerts, including the December 12, 2025 announcement ending categorical Family Reunification Parole programs and the January 14, 2026 termination date tied to the Form I-485 filing cutoff of December 15, 2025:
Key dates and figures — at a glance
| Item | Figure / Date |
|---|---|
| Formal deportations (2025) | > 605,000 |
| Self-deportations (2025) | ~1.9 million |
| Total leaving U.S. since Jan 20, 2025 | > 2.5 million |
| Guatemala share of deportation flights | ~25% |
| Detained in custody (Dec 14, 2025) | > 68,400 |
| Deaths in ICE custody (by Dec 2025) | 32 |
| USCIS FRP termination announcement | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Deadline to file Form I-485 to preserve parole | Dec 15, 2025 |
| Parole termination effective date | Jan 14, 2026 |
| Final deportation flights to Guatemala | Dec 31, 2025 |
Takeaway
DHS and ICE closed 2025 with a sustained enforcement campaign characterized by record detention levels, high counts of formal and self-deportations, program rescissions affecting legal status for many nationals, and targeted public messaging. The December 31 deportation flights to Guatemala capped a year in which policy rollbacks, incentives for self-deportation, and expanded arrests combined to alter who was being removed and how removal operations were publicly framed.
The U.S. concluded 2025 with record-breaking immigration enforcement, resulting in over 2.5 million departures. Formal deportations exceeded 605,000, while self-deportations reached 1.9 million. Guatemala was a central focus, receiving 25% of flights. The administration coupled high-intensity arrests with the termination of family parole programs and the launch of the ‘Worst of the Worst’ database, signaling a permanent shift toward mass removal operations and stricter detention policies.
