Guatemala

Detains migrants or asylum seekers?

Yes

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

Yes

Refugees

701

2022

Asylum Applications

1,519

2022

International Migrants

84,311

2020

Population

18,100,000

2023

Overview

(February 2016) Guatemala is a source country as well as a key migrant transit state linking North and South America. It has also served as an entry point for thousands of “extracontinental” migrants and asylum seekers who hope to continue their journeys north. Mexico and the United States have long pressured the country to halt the movement of foreigners across its borders. U.S. immigration authorities have at times provided direct economic assistance for detaining foreigners. Guatemala has used a range of detention facilities for this purpose, including euphemistically named centros de albergue (“shelters”) as well as dilapidated former hotels and naval bases.

Types of facilities used for migration-related detention
Administrative Ad Hoc Criminal Unknown

18 January 2021 – Guatemala

In mid-January, as thousands of mostly Honduran migrants, including many children, began crossing the Guatemalan border as part of a new “caravan” seeking passage to the United States, Guatemalan security forces forcefully repelled them, leading to scenes of violence and chaos near the border. Videos posted on social media and news networks showed scuffles between […]

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Guatemalan Security Forces Clash with a Group of Honduran Migrants, (Esteban Biba, EPA,

12 November 2020 – Guatemala

The Guatemalan Migration Institute reports that more than 1,400 unaccompanied minors have been expelled by U.S. authorities to Guatemala since March. The deportations have often taken place before the children are given the opportunity to apply for asylum. In October alone, some 407 children were expelled. (By contrast, 385 unaccompanied children were deported to Guatemala […]

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J. Abbott, “US Accused of Using Covid as Excuse to Deny Children Right to Asylum,” The Guardian, 10 November 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/10/us-child-deportations-guatemala-pandemic

23 June 2020 – Guatemala

Responding to the GDP Covid-19 survey, the Guatemalan Ombudsman office (Procuraduría para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos or PDH) said that the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry has reported a notable reduction in the number of flights returning migrants to Guatemala. Guatemala has also suspended numerous deportation flights from the United States (see 19 June Guatemala […]

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Two Asylum Seekers, One from El Salvador, One from Honduras, Wait Inside a Migrant House in Guatemala City after Being Sent to Guatemala from the United States on 3 December 2019, Under An “Asylum Cooperative Agreement” Between the Two Countries,

19 June 2020 – Guatemala

Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Guatemala’s immigration authority (Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración) reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders has been established. The Guatemalan immigration authority also reported that currently only Guatemalan national residents and accredited consular diplomats are allowed to enter the country. Non-citizens are only allowed to leave […]

Read More…

M. G. Diaz, “Coronavirus en Guatemala: los Contagios de Covid-19 entre Migrantes que Llevaron al Pais a Suspender los Vuelos de Deportados desde EE.UU.,” BBC News, 21 April 2020, https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-52364025

10 June 2020 – Guatemala

Responding to the Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, Guatemala’s immigration authority (Instituto Guatealteco de Migración) reported that no moratorium on new immigration detention orders has been established. The Guatemalan immigration authority also reported that currently only Guatemalan national residents and accredited consular diplomats are allowed to enter the country. Non-citizens are only allowed to leave […]

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Mattresses on the Floor of the Guatemala City Airport, Placed for Returned Migrants, (PDH Guatemala,

20 April 2020 – Guatemala

On 19 April 2020, Guatemalan President, Alejandro Giammattei, stated that a total of 50 migrants deported by the United States to Guatemala have tested positive for Covid-19. Human Rights advocates had been warning for weeks that deportation flights from the United States, the country with the largest known number of Covid-19 cases, could spread the […]

Read More…

Health Workers Bringing in Supplies Deliveries by Family Members to a Temporary Shelter for Guatemalan Citizens Deported from the United States, (17 April 2020, CNN,
Last updated: February 2016

Guatemala Immigration Detention Profile

  • Introduction
  • Laws, Policies, and Practices
  • Detention Infrastructure
  • PDF of 2016 Profile

 

INTRODUCTION

Situated at the axis between North and South America and wracked by poverty and conflict, Guatemala is both an important source of migrants and asylum seekers as well as a crucial transit country. Some 1.5 million Guatemalans live in the United States and approximately 300,000 people transit the country every year. In addition, Guatemala hosts roughly 76,000 foreign nationals, most of whom come from neighbouring Central American countries.[1] The country has also hosted significant numbers of so-called extraregional migrants from Colombia, China, India, and Ecuador, among other countries. The majority of foreigners living in Guatemala are undocumented.[2]

Because of its key role in the regional migration phenomenon, Guatemala has long been pressured by other countries in the region, mainly Mexico and the United States, to halt the movement of foreigners across its borders. Reports indicate that since as far back as the late 1990s, U.S. immigration authorities have helped support, sometimes with financial assistance, the apprehension and detention of third-country nationals in Guatemala.[3] The country’s detention facilities, which it euphemistically terms “shelters” (or centros de albergue), have included dilapidated former hotels as well as naval bases.

 

LAW, POLICIES, AND PRACTICES

The 1998 Migration Law (Ley de Migración, Decree 95-98) and the 1999 Migration Regulation (Reglamento de Migración) provide the legal framework for migration management in Guatemala, including grounds for immigration-related detention, which is euphemistically referred to as albergar (to shelter or accommodate). The 2001 Refugee Regulation (Reglamento para la protección y determinación del Estatuto de Refugiado en el Territorio del Estado de Guatemala) establishes refugee protection and status determination procedures.

Observers have criticized these laws for failing to provide procedural guarantees or adequate guidance on the application of discretion when treating undocumented migrants and asylum seekers. These legal lacunae, they argue, lead to arbitrary decision-making and enable corruption and abuse.[4]

The General Directorate for Migration (Dirección General de Migración), an agency of the Interior Ministry (Ministerio de Gobernación), is empowered—along with the police—to apprehend non-citizens and has custodial authority over immigration detainees.[5] The directorate has repeatedly been the target of corruption allegations.[6]

Grounds for detention. Non-citizens who enter or stay in the country without authorization may be subject to a fine, deportation, or expulsion. Article 111 of the Migration Law provides that the Directorate General for Migration may “accommodate” (albergar) non-citizens who do not have required travel documents in designated centres (centros destinados especialmente para este fin), which are misleadingly called “accommodation centres” or “shelters” (centros de albergue). Other countries in the region use similar euphemisms, including Mexico (estacion migratoria), Honduras (centro especiale de atencion), Nicaragua (centro de albergue de migrantes), and El Salvador (centro de atención integral para el migrante).

According to some reports, immigration authorities systematically apply detention measures. [7] However, given the small numbers of officially reported detainees (see below) it seems unlikely that all detected or apprehended undocumented travellers are placed in immigration detention.

Official statistics. According to statistics from the Directorate General for Migration, in 2015 563 non-citizens were detained at Guatemala’s sole detention centre, 526 in 2014, 341 in 2013, and 308 in 2012.[8] It is unclear if these numbers represent all immigration-related detentions as they refer uniquely to the “albergue” in Guatemala City. They also appear to diverge from reports made by non-governmental organizations, which have reported much higher numbers of detainees dating back to the mid-2000s. For instance, during the period January-October 2005, 3,020 migrants were reportedly apprehended and placed in detention; during the same period in 2006, 1,478.[9]

While the official number of migrants detained annually has been rising during the past few years, these figures are comparatively low considering the migratory and political pressures faced by Guatemala. Neighbouring Honduras, which is also an important source and transit country for migrants, detained 2,526 migrants in 2013 and 1,198 in 2012.

According to official sources, between 2012-2015 the largest number of detainees were from El Salvador (420), followed by Honduras (348), Nicaragua (332), Ecuador (160), and Cuba (103). In addition, during this four-year period, the detention centre in Guatemala City confined 79 migrants from Nepal, 86 from China, 40 from India, and 33 from Bangladesh. The total number of detainees comprised 206 women in 2015, 296 women in 2014, 181 women in 2013, and 210 women in 2012.[10] In 2009 the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants noted that the majority of detainees were between 18 and 29 years old.[11]

Length of detention. The Migration Law does not set a limit to the length of detention. Those most impacted by this legal gap have been migrants and asylum seekers from outside the region—including people from India, China, Nepal, and Uzbekistan—whose home countries do not have consular representation in Guatemala.[12] People from South American countries like Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela have also faced lengthy periods in immigration detention because their consular representatives refuse to assist in covering deportation costs.[13] Thus, while people from Central America are reportedly detained for at most a few days, migrants from other continents can be kept in the detention for up to 10 months.[14]

Procedural guarantees. Deportation procedures are to be subject to a hearing (Migration Law, article 113). However, because the law does not explicitly mention the word “detention” the legislation lacks any provisions for reviewing detention measures. There is no right to appeal, legal or linguistic assistance, or alternatives to detention. There are similar gaps in Honduras because the immigration legislation also fails to explicitly regulate it.

Article 116 of the Migration Law vaguely mentions that appeals of migration-related decisions are regulated by the Law on Administrative Litigation. Yet, it is not clear whether detention is covered by this provision and sources in Guatemala told the Global Detention Project that it was unclear the extent to which efforts have been made to apply this law in court.[15] In 2014 the International Detention Coalition reported that there was no judicial control over immigration detention and that authorities were not willing to allow civil society organizations to provide legal assistance to detainees.[16]

Detainees are reportedly informed about the reasons they are in custody. Yet, this information is not necessarily conveyed in a language they understand. Guatemala’s main detention centre does not employ a translator so detainees do not have access to linguistic assistance.[17] Detainees can request privately paid legal advice.[18]

Apprehensions. Apprehension operations are carried out jointly by the Directorate General for Migration and the police. These operations are justified as combatting petty criminality. In 2005, the directorate reported that there were 137 apprehension operations; it reported 180 in 2006. Operations are often carried out in bars or nightclubs in the capital, Guatemala City. In 2006, these operations resulted in the apprehension of 1,759 non-citizens, of whom 98 percent were women. The most frequent countries origin of apprehended migrants were Nicaragua (498), El Salvador (392), Ecuador (346), Honduras (315), and Peru (102).[19]

According to civil society sources in Guatemala, breaches of fundamental rights are common during apprehension operations. People who appear to be victims of trafficking are often not treated with proper care, officials neglect to document if minors are taken into custody, and there is a lack of female staff to carry out body searches when women are apprehended.[20]

Cooperation with the United States. Guatemalan security services, including military and immigration officers, have collaborated for decades with U.S. officials to prevent and interdict irregular migration on land and sea.

Non-governmental sources claim that since 2001, when Guatemala authorized the United State to patrol its Pacific coastline, the U.S. Coast Guard has played an integral role patrolling Guatemalan territorial waters. This agreement was prompted by increases in the numbers of migrants travelling by sea, mainly from Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Since the United States began these patrolling operations, interceptions and detentions have reportedly gone up. [21]

The U.S. collaboration resulted in Guatemala’s Naval Pacific Base being used as a place of detention, even though this is at odds with the Migration Law, which provides that the institution empowered to conduct migration-related operations is solely the Directorate General for Migration and the only detention facilities are designated “albergues.”[22]

Journalistic accounts also have detailed collaborative migration control initiatives, which are often framed as “anti-smuggling” operations. One report from 2002 cites a press release from the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) that reported that a multi-lateral anti-smuggling operation, which took place in 2001 and involved several Latin American countries, had been “the largest, most successful operation of its kind.” The operation, called “Crossroads International,” reportedly resulted in the arrest of some 8,000 migrants and 75 smugglers in 12 Latin American countries. The INS claimed that law enforcement agents from Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and Peru participated in the operation.[23]

Reports also indicate that the U.S. Coast Guard’s interventions in Guatemalan waters on migration matters date back to the early 1990s. An official with the Guatemalan government’s human rights defenders office (the Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos, or PDH) said in a 2001 interview: “When the [U.S. Coast Guard] intercepts [migrant smuggling] boats, it often asks Guatemala to accept the migrants on humanitarian grounds. But it really isn’t for that. The fact is, other countries either don’t accept U.S. policies or don’t want the migrants, so the United States turns to Guatemala.”[24]

The PDH official also questioned the legality of some of the detentions. He pointed to a case in March 2001 when the U.S. Coast Guard, working with the U.S. Navy, intercepted an Ecuadorian fishing vessel in international waters off the coast of Costa Rica that was carrying some 220 undocumented migrants from Ecuador. According to a PDH report about the case, after the boat was escorted to Guatemala’s Puerto Quetzal, the U.S. embassy asked that nation’s vice president to have the five crew members detained. Guatemala’s migration authority subsequently brought charges against the crew members, accusing them of illegally bringing people into the country—although the boat had been detained in international waters. A judge threw out the case, but the DGM refused to release the crew. They remained in detention for several months before reportedly escaping.[25]

Asylum seekers. Asylum seekers are generally not detained. If a non-citizen applies for asylum after being taken into custody, the person is supposed to be released. Once released, asylum seekers have to renew their permits every ten days.[26]

Vulnerable persons. Accompanied children are detained with their families while unaccompanied minors have generally been accommodated in alternative facilities. According to the official statistics, between 2012-2015 there were four children detained alongside their parents.[27] Until early 2009 undocumented children tended to be accommodated at Casa Allianza Guatemala during identification proceedings. Since the closure of the shelter due to lack of funds there apparently have been no places that can offer specialized care for unaccompanied children in irregular situation. These children appear to be accommodated in shelters for minors managed by the state or NGOs.[28]

Sources told the Global Detention Project that there are three shelters for unaccompanied girls in Guatemala City, one managed by the Social Welfare Secretariat called Hogar Securo and the other two by the Asociación La Alianza y Asociación El Refugio de la Niñez.[29]

Until December 2015, women victims of trafficking were accommodated in Albergue Luz de Esperanza, managed by the Social Welfare Secretariat. Since its closure, no other facility has been opened, raising the possibility that trafficking victims could end up being placed in detention centres.[30]

Criminalization. The Migration Law does not criminalize irregular stay or entry per se. What is punished with imprisonment are acts related to facilitation of entry and transit of undocumented migrants thought the country (Migration Law, article 103-108).

Designated sites of detention and authorities. Article 111 of the Migration Law provides that the Directorate General for Migration may establish or authorize facilities for use as detention centres (or centros de albergue). The provision specifies that the centres are to comply with minimum conditions. Police are to provide security at the centres (Migration Regulation, article 96).

The Migration Law (article 111) also stipulates that the Directorate General for Migration may enlist the services of non-profit organisations to provide assistance for migrants in transit.

Under article 96 of the Migration Regulation, any organization authorized by the Directorate General for Migration to manage an albergue has to comply with the following obligations: a) give written notice per fax to the Directorate General for Migration’s Department of Immigration Control (Subdirección de Control Migratorio) of all foreigners who enter the centre; b) provide access to the directorate so it can establish the immigration status of detainees; c) and allow the police to provide security.

Access to detainees. The Human Rights Ombudsman (Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos) appears to be the only institution allowed to enter the detention centre in Guatemala City. However its access is reportedly limited.[31] In addition there are number of human rights organizations, including Mesa Nacional para las Migraciones en Guatemala (MENAMIG), that seek to assist migrants and detainees.

 

DETENTION INFRASTRUCTURE

Guatemala currently operates one albergue as a detention centre. The facility, which is located in “zona 5” of Guatemala City and has been in use since 2007, reportedly has a capacity of 100 and can accommodate both men and women.[32]

The locations and modalities of detention centres have changed several times over the years and the government has at times received U.S. financial assistance to operate detention centres.

In 2001, after joint anti-smuggling operations with the United States resulted in large increases on the number of detainees, the Guatemalan government appealed to the U.S. Embassy for support. In a July 2001 letter to the U.S. ambassador, the country’s migration chief wrote: “Taking into consideration that migration is an international problem, I appeal to you for humanitarian aid to help avoid this immigration and thereby contribute to the American dream that they desire and to contribute as well to national security. The aid that we ask for consists in helping us rent [shelters] and to pay for flight tickets to transport undocumented people back to their countries of origin.”[33]

The United States reportedly responded favorably to this request. A U.S. embassy press attaché said in an interview at the time: "The decision to support this request was made on the basis of the needs of the migrants. They need to be housed and cared for, and the question was what can we do to make sure there is a place for them to stay as their nationality is being established. That was the concern; that was what we tried to accomplish."[34]

The U.S. funded detention efforts received enormous critical attention in Guatemala, although only one newspaper in the United States picked up the story, the Miami Herald. The Herald carried a small article in its inside pages reporting on the death of a migrant from India at a U.S:-funded facility who committed suicide after spending months in detention and having little prospect to get to his hoped for destination, the United States.[35]

Margarita Hurtado, a member of a Guatemalan migrants rights group, described for a journalist the conditions at the two U.S.-funded detention centers, which were eventually closed down: "After they initiated [the anti-smuggling operation] ‘Coyote 2001,’ the centres were filled with people from everywhere—from Ecuador, India, Peru, Syria, Cuba. In one space there were 40 people … there was no light, no air. They were worse than our jails."[36]

When the reporter asked an official at the INS regional office in Mexico City whether the U.S. funded facilities had been inspected by U.S. officials, the official said: “We determined that the facilities Guatemala was using were not acceptable. Guatemala is now looking at another location to build a new detention center, which will be almost like a model for Central America. … I sent my deputy director to check it out because we are greatly concerned.”[37]

Among the facilities that were used by the Directorate General for Migration at the time were several dilapidated former hotels located in “zona 1” of Guatemala City, including Hotel Brasilia, Hotel Capri and Hotel Espana. These places did not offer basic material conditions to detainees. The argument of the authorities to stop these detention arrangements was that they did not allow adequate security and surveillance measures. The Directorate General for Migration then established a new detention centre (called albergue) in a different part (“zona 9”) of Guatemala City. This detention centre also attracted criticism because of its inadequate conditions.[38]

Albergue in “zona 5.” The current detention centre, located in “zona 5” of Guatemala City, confines women and men on the second and third floors, respectively. Both floors have a similar set-up and are divided in two sections. Each floor has a common area that is equipped with tables and chairs, TV and air-conditioning. The sleeping areas have 25 bunk beds. A roof terrace is used as a recreation space, which immigration detainees can occasionally access, men and women separately. There is a laundry building located on the terrace, which is used for detaining families. Immigration detainees have access to medical assistance once a week.[39] The building is secured by metal bars on the windows, electrical wires, and armed police officers.[40]

Conditions at the centre have been repeatedly criticized. In 2008 the Defensoría de Población Desarraigada y Migrante of the Human Rights Ombudsman (Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos) visited the centre and found serious shortcomings, including inadequate ventilation, lack of means of communication (telephones), insufficient recreation space, and inadequate rooms to meet consular representatives.[41]

In 2011, the UN Committee on Migrant Workers expressed concern over reports about prolonged detention of non-citizens from outside the region in the centre, the failure to appoint interpreters, inadequate conditions, in particular the lack of open spaces and ventilation for migrants, as well as limited access to basic social services. In addition, the committee was concerned about the lack of information on the number of immigration detainees, given the considerable number of migrants who transit through Guatemala every year. The committee urged Guatemala to improve conditions at the facility, ensuring the provision of basic social services, including food, health care and hygienic conditions. It also encouraged the state to expedite exit procedures and to ensure that men and women are duly separated.[42]

 


[1] United Nationas Deportment o Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migration Wallchart, 2015, http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/wallchart/index.shtml.

[2] GRUPO ARTICULADOR DE LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL PARA LA ELABORACIÓN DEL INFORME ALTERNATIVO, Informe alternativo de Guatemala Sobre la aplicación de la Convención Internacional sobre la Protección de los Derechos de todos los Trabajadores Migratorios y de sus Familiares, October 2010,

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCMW%2fNGO%2fGTM%2f15%2f8967&Lang=en.

[3] See, for instance, Michael Flynn, “Dónde Esta La Frontera?” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientots, Juyl/Augusts 2002, http://www.globaldetentionproject.org/sites/default/files/fileadmin/publications/Flynn_frontera.pdf.

[4] Carol L. Girón Solórzano, “Estudio Migratorio de Guatemala,” in Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarrollo (INCEDES) and Sin Fronteras (Eds.), Estudio comparativo de la legislación y políticas migratorias en Centroamérica, México y República Dominicana, November 2011, http://www.sinfronteras.org.mx/index.php/es/publicaciones/de-sin-fronteras/informes-anuales-2/14-informes-tematicos/380-estudio-comparativo-de-la-legislacion-y-politicas-migratorias-en-centroamerica-mexico-y-republica-dominicana

[5] Instituto de Estudios Políticos para América Latina y África and Médicos Sin Fronteras, Informacion comparada sobre detencion de solicitantes de asilo en Centroamerica y Caribe, 2007, http://www.gloobal.net/iepala/gloobal/fichas/ficha.php?entidad=Textos&id=4303&opcion=documento#ficha_gloobal.

[6] Isabel Rosales, "Public Officials and the Migration Industry in Guatemala: Greasing the Wheels of a Corrupt Machine," in Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen and Ninna Nyberg Sørensen (eds.), The Migration Industry and the Commercialization of International Migration, Routledge, 2013, 215-237.

[7] International Detention Coalition (IDC). INFORME REGIONAL DETENCIÓN MIGRATORIA Y ALTERNATIVAS A LA DETENCIÓN EN LAS AMÉRICAS. October 2014.

[8] Direccion General de Migracion, Reporte estadistica anual de personas extranjeras albergadas por la Direccion General de Migracion ano 2012-2015.

[9] Carol L. Girón Solórzano, “Estudio Migratorio de Guatemala,” in Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarrollo (INCEDES) and Sin Fronteras (Eds.), Estudio comparativo de la legislación y políticas migratorias en Centroamérica, México y República Dominicana, November 2011, http://www.sinfronteras.org.mx/index.php/es/publicaciones/de-sin-fronteras/informes-anuales-2/14-informes-tematicos/380-estudio-comparativo-de-la-legislacion-y-politicas-migratorias-en-centroamerica-mexico-y-republica-dominicana

[10] Direccion General de Migracion, Reporte estadistica anual de personas extranjeras albergadas por la Direccion General de Migracion ano 2012-2015.

[11] Relator Especial sobre los derechos humanos de los migrantes, Informe del Relator Especial sobre los derechos humanos de los migrantes, Sr. Jorge Bustamante, Adición: MISIÓN A GUATEMALA, A/HRC/11/7/Add.3, March 2009, http://www.ohchr.org.gt/cd_instrumentos/documentos/Migra.pdf.

[12] Undisclosed source, Global Detention Project Questionnaire : Guatemala, November 2015 ; GRUPO ARTICULADOR DE LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL PARA LA ELABORACIÓN DEL INFORME ALTERNATIVO, Informe alternativo de Guatemala Sobre la aplicación de la Convención Internacional sobre la Protección de los Derechos de todos los Trabajadores Migratorios y de sus Familiares, October 2010,

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCMW%2fNGO%2fGTM%2f15%2f8967&Lang=en; and Instituto de Estudios Políticos para América Latina y África and Médicos Sin Fronteras, Informacion comparada sobre detencion de solicitantes de asilo en Centroamerica y Caribe, 2007, http://www.gloobal.net/iepala/gloobal/fichas/ficha.php?entidad=Textos&id=4303&opcion=documento#ficha_gloobal.

[13] Undisclosed source, Global Detention Project Questionnaire : Guatemala, November 2015 ; and GRUPO ARTICULADOR DE LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL PARA LA ELABORACIÓN DEL INFORME ALTERNATIVO, Informe alternativo de Guatemala Sobre la aplicación de la Convención Internacional sobre la Protección de los Derechos de todos los Trabajadores Migratorios y de sus Familiares, October 2010,

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCMW%2fNGO%2fGTM%2f15%2f8967&Lang=en

[14] International Detention Coalition (IDC), INFORME REGIONAL DETENCIÓN MIGRATORIA Y ALTERNATIVAS A LA DETENCIÓN EN LAS AMÉRICAS, October 2014.

[15] Undisclosed source, Global Detention Project Questionnaire : Guatemala, November 2015.

[16] International Detention Coalition (IDC), INFORME REGIONAL DETENCIÓN MIGRATORIA Y ALTERNATIVAS A LA DETENCIÓN EN LAS AMÉRICAS, October 2014.

[17] GRUPO ARTICULADOR DE LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL PARA LA ELABORACIÓN DEL INFORME ALTERNATIVO, Informe alternativo de Guatemala Sobre la aplicación de la Convención Internacional sobre la Protección de los Derechos de todos los Trabajadores Migratorios y de sus Familiares, October 2010.

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCMW%2fNGO%2fGTM%2f15%2f8967&Lang=en.

[18] Undisclosed source, Global Detention Project Questionnaire : Guatemala, November 2015.

[19] Carol L. Girón Solórzano, “Estudio Migratorio de Guatemala,” in Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarrollo (INCEDES) and Sin Fronteras (Eds.), Estudio comparativo de la legislación y políticas migratorias en Centroamérica, México y República Dominicana, November 2011, http://www.sinfronteras.org.mx/index.php/es/publicaciones/de-sin-fronteras/informes-anuales-2/14-informes-tematicos/380-estudio-comparativo-de-la-legislacion-y-politicas-migratorias-en-centroamerica-mexico-y-republica-dominicana

[20] Carol L. Girón Solórzano, “Estudio Migratorio de Guatemala,” in Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarrollo (INCEDES) and Sin Fronteras (Eds.), Estudio comparativo de la legislación y políticas migratorias en Centroamérica, México y República Dominicana, November 2011, http://www.sinfronteras.org.mx/index.php/es/publicaciones/de-sin-fronteras/informes-anuales-2/14-informes-tematicos/380-estudio-comparativo-de-la-legislacion-y-politicas-migratorias-en-centroamerica-mexico-y-republica-dominicana

[21] Carol L. Girón Solórzano, “Estudio Migratorio de Guatemala,” in Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarrollo (INCEDES) and Sin Fronteras (Eds.), Estudio comparativo de la legislación y políticas migratorias en Centroamérica, México y República Dominicana, November 2011, http://www.sinfronteras.org.mx/index.php/es/publicaciones/de-sin-fronteras/informes-anuales-2/14-informes-tematicos/380-estudio-comparativo-de-la-legislacion-y-politicas-migratorias-en-centroamerica-mexico-y-republica-dominicana

[22] Carol L. Girón Solórzano, “Estudio Migratorio de Guatemala,” in Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarrollo (INCEDES) and Sin Fronteras (Eds.), Estudio comparativo de la legislación y políticas migratorias en Centroamérica, México y República Dominicana, November 2011, http://www.sinfronteras.org.mx/index.php/es/publicaciones/de-sin-fronteras/informes-anuales-2/14-informes-tematicos/380-estudio-comparativo-de-la-legislacion-y-politicas-migratorias-en-centroamerica-mexico-y-republica-dominicana

[23] Michael Flynn, " U.S. Anti-Migration Efforts Move South,” Americas Program, 3 July 2002, http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/1066.

[24] Michael Flynn, " U.S. Anti-Migration Efforts Move South,” Americas Program, 3 July 2002, http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/1066.

[25] Michael Flynn, " U.S. Anti-Migration Efforts Move South,” Americas Program, 3 July 2002, http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/1066.

[26] Instituto de Estudios Políticos para América Latina y África and Médicos Sin Fronteras, Informacion comparada sobre detencion de solicitantes de asilo en Centroamerica y Caribe, 2007, http://www.gloobal.net/iepala/gloobal/fichas/ficha.php?entidad=Textos&id=4303&opcion=documento#ficha_gloobal.

[27] Direccion General de Migracion, Reporte estadistica anual de personas extranjeras albergadas por la Direccion General de Migracion ano 2012-2015.

[28] Carol L. Girón Solórzano, “Estudio Migratorio de Guatemala,” in Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarrollo (INCEDES) and Sin Fronteras (Eds.), Estudio comparativo de la legislación y políticas migratorias en Centroamérica, México y República Dominicana, November 2011, http://www.sinfronteras.org.mx/index.php/es/publicaciones/de-sin-fronteras/informes-anuales-2/14-informes-tematicos/380-estudio-comparativo-de-la-legislacion-y-politicas-migratorias-en-centroamerica-mexico-y-republica-dominicana.

Undisclosed source, Global Detention Project Questionnaire : Guatemala, November 2015.

[29] Undisclosed source, email correspondance with Michael Flynn (Global Detention Project), February 2016.

[30] Undisclosed source, email correspondance with Michael Flynn (Global Detention Project), February 2016.

[31] Instituto de Estudios Políticos para América Latina y África and Médicos Sin Fronteras, Informacion comparada sobre detencion de solicitantes de asilo en Centroamerica y Caribe, 2007, http://www.gloobal.net/iepala/gloobal/fichas/ficha.php?entidad=Textos&id=4303&opcion=documento#ficha_gloobal.

[32] Relator Especial sobre los derechos humanos de los migrantes, Informe del Relator Especial sobre los derechos humanos de los migrantes, Sr. Jorge Bustamante, Adición: MISIÓN A GUATEMALA, A/HRC/11/7/Add.3, March 2009, http://www.ohchr.org.gt/cd_instrumentos/documentos/Migra.pdf and Undisclosed source, email correspondance with Michael Flynn (Global Detention Project), February 2016.

[33] Michael Flynn, " U.S. Anti-Migration Efforts Move South,” Americas Program, 3 July 2002, http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/1066.

[34] Michael Flynn, " U.S. Anti-Migration Efforts Move South,” Americas Program, 3 July 2002, http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/1066.

[35] Cited in Michael Flynn, “Dónde Esta La Frontera?” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientots, Juyl/Augusts 2002, http://www.globaldetentionproject.org/sites/default/files/fileadmin/publications/Flynn_frontera.pdf.

[36] Michael Flynn, " U.S. Anti-Migration Efforts Move South,” Americas Program, 3 July 2002, http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/1066.

[37] Michael Flynn, " U.S. Anti-Migration Efforts Move South,” Americas Program, 3 July 2002, http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/1066.

[38] Carol L. Girón Solórzano, “Estudio Migratorio de Guatemala,” in Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Sociales y Desarrollo (INCEDES) and Sin Fronteras (Eds.), Estudio comparativo de la legislación y políticas migratorias en Centroamérica, México y República Dominicana, November 2011, http://www.sinfronteras.org.mx/index.php/es/publicaciones/de-sin-fronteras/informes-anuales-2/14-informes-tematicos/380-estudio-comparativo-de-la-legislacion-y-politicas-migratorias-en-centroamerica-mexico-y-republica-dominicana.

Relator Especial sobre los derechos humanos de los migrantes, Informe del Relator Especial sobre los derechos humanos de los migrantes, Sr. Jorge Bustamante, Adición: MISIÓN A GUATEMALA, A/HRC/11/7/Add.3, March 2009, http://www.ohchr.org.gt/cd_instrumentos/documentos/Migra.pdf.

[39] Undisclosed source, Global Detention Project Questionnaire : Guatemala, November 2015.

[40] GRUPO ARTICULADOR DE LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL PARA LA ELABORACIÓN DEL INFORME ALTERNATIVO, Informe alternativo de Guatemala Sobre la aplicación de la Convención Internacional sobre la Protección de los Derechos de todos los Trabajadores Migratorios y de sus Familiares, October 2010,

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCMW%2fNGO%2fGTM%2f15%2f8967&Lang=en.

[41] Procurador de los Derechos Humanos, Defensoría Población Desarraigada y Migrante, Informe Monitoreo Albergue, 2008.

[42] Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Concluding observations of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families: Guatemala, CMW/C/GTM/CO/1, 18 October 2011, http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CMW%2fC%2fGTM%2fCO%2f1&Lang=en.

DETENTION STATISTICS

Total Migration Detainees: Flow + Stock (year)
563
2015
526
2014
341
2013
308
2012

DETAINEE DATA

Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
2017

DETENTION CAPACITY

Total Immigration Detention Capacity
100
2015
Immigration Detention Capacity (Specialised Immigration Facilities Only)
100
2015
Number of Dedicated Immigration Detention Centres
1
2015

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
21,642
2017
16,336
2013
11,140
2010
7,143
2007
8,698
2004
7,303
2001
7,849
1998
5,814
1995
5,592
1992
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
3.2
2017
3
2013
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
128
2017
105
2013
77
2010
53
2007
70
2004
63
2001
73
1998
58
1995
59
1992

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
18,100,000
2023
17,900,000
2020
16,343,000
2015
16,100,000
2012
International Migrants (Year)
84,311
2020
80,421
2019
76,400
2015
72,800
2013
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
0.47
2020
0.5
2015
0.5
2013
Refugees (Year)
701
2022
479
2021
442
2020
408
2019
390
2018
370
2017
295
2016
226
2015
160
2014
Ratio of Refugees Per 1000 Inhabitants (Year)
0.02
2016
0.01
2014
0.01
2012
Asylum Applications (Year)
1,519
2022
491
2019
128
2016
120
2014
18
2012
Refugee Recognition Rate (Year)
87.5
2014
Stateless Persons (Year)
0
2022
0
2016
0
2014

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
3,673
2014
3,478
2013
Remittances to the Country
5,844
2014
4,489
2011
Remittances From the Country
21
2010
Unemployment Rate
2014
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (in Millions USD)
277
2014
Human Development Index Ranking (UNDP)
128 (Medium)
2015
125 (Medium)
2014

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?
Yes
2019
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Yes
2016

GOVERNANCE SYSTEM

Legal Tradition(s)
Civil law
Federal or Centralised Governing System
Centralized system
2016
Centralised or Decentralised Immigration Authority
Centralized immigration authority
2015

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Do Migration Detainees Have Constitutional Guarantees?
Yes (Constitution of Guatemala, articles 6-12.) 1985 1985
1985 1993
Detention-Related Legislation
Migration Law (Ley de Migración, Decree 95-98) (1998)
1998
Decreto No. 44, Código de Migración (2016)
2016
Regulations, Standards, Guidelines
Migration Regulation (Reglamento de Migración) (1999)
1999

GROUNDS FOR MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
Detention to effect removal
2016
Detention for unauthorised entry or stay
2016
Detention to establish/verify identity and nationality
2016
Criminal Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations
No (No)
2015
Children & Other Vulnerable Groups
Accompanied minors (Prohibited) Yes
2015
Unaccompanied minors (Prohibited)
2015
Refugees (Not mentioned) No
2015
Asylum seekers (Not mentioned) No
2015
Victims of trafficking (Not mentioned) No
2015

LENGTH OF MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

Maximum Length of Administrative Immigration Detention
No Limit
2015

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

Custodial Authorities
Direccion General de Migracion (Ministerio de Gobernacion) Interior or Home Affairs
2015
Direccion General de Migracion (Ministerio de Gobernacion) Interior or Home Affairs
2005
Direccion General de Migracion (Ministerio de Gobernacion) Interior or Home Affairs
2002
Detention Facility Management
Direccion General de Migracion (Governmental)
2015
Direccion General de Migracion (Governmental)
2005
Direccion General de Migracion (Governmental)
2002
Formally Designated Detention Estate?
Yes (Dedicated immigration detention facilities)
2016
Types of Detention Facilities Used in Practice
Immigration detention centre (Administrative)
2015
Immigration detention centre (Administrative)

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

Procedural Standards
Information to detainees Yes
2015
Right to legal counsel Yes
2015
Access to consular assistance Yes
2015
Access to asylum procedures Yes
2015
Independent review of detention No
2014
Access to free interpretation services No
2010
Types of Non-Custodial Measures (ATDs) Provided in Law
Designated non-secure housing (No) Yes
2015

DETENTION MONITORS

Types of Authorised Detention Monitoring Institutions
Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos (National Human Rights Institution (or Ombudsperson) (NHRI))
2015

> National human rights monitoring bodies

> National Preventive Mechanisms (Optional Protocol to UN Convetion against Torture)

> Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

> Governmental monitoring bodies

> International detention monitoring

TRANSPARENCY

READMISSION/RETURN/EXTRADITION AGREEMENTS

COVID-19

HEALTH CARE

COVID-19 DATA

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2009
2009
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2008
2008
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2004
2004
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2004
2004
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2003
2003
CRSSP, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
2000
2000
ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
1992
1992
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1990
1990
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1990
1990
ICESCR, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1988
1988
ICERD, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1983
1983
CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1983
1983
PCRSR, Protocol to the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1983
1983
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1982
1982
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1973
1973
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 15/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Acceptance Year
CRPD, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2009
2009
ICRMW, declaration under article 77 2007
2007
CAT, declaration under article 22 of the Convention 2003
2003
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1999 2002
2002
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 2000
2000
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
5/8
5/8
Relevant Recommendations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on Migrant Workers §24.The Committee notes the information provided by the delegation of the State party on efforts to improve conditions at the shelter for migrants operated by the Directorate-General of Migration. Nevertheless, it is concerned at reports about inadequate conditions at the shelter, in particular the lack of open spaces and ventilation for migrants, as well as the limited access to basic social services. The Committee is also concerned about the limited information on the number of migrants housed in the shelter for violations of migration legislation, given the considerable number of migrants who transit through the State party every year. The Committee recommends that the State party continue its efforts to improve conditions at the shelter for migrants, ensuring the provision of basic social services, including food, health care and hygienic conditions. It also encourages the State party to expedite exit procedures and to ensure that men and women are duly separated. The Committee requests the State party to include in its next report data disaggregated by age, sex and nationality, as well as information on the number of migrants housed in the shelter run by the Directorate-General of Migration. 2011
2011
Committee on Migrant Workers § 39. Creating prosecutor’s offices that specialize in crimes against migrants, and suggests establishing simplified processes for registering complaints and collecting testimonies from migrants so that investigations can be launched against criminal organizations that prey on migrants through various forms of extortion, exploitation and violation of their rights. It also recommends that justice be served regardless of whether a migrant has left the territory of Guatemala and that justice be demanded for Guatemalans abroad who have been victims of such crimes. § 41. Phasing out all migration-related measures of deprivation of liberty and making any deprivation of liberty absolutely prohibited for children and adolescents. The Committee also recommends that the State party apply alternative measures for unaccompanied minors and that it places them in care centers run by personnel specializing in children, in line with joint general comments Nos. 3 and 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and Nos. 22 and 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. 2019
2019
Committee on the Rights of the Child § 83. "The Committee recommends that the State party enact a migration law that addresses the situation faced by migrant children and create tools to address the existing problems, especially with regard to unaccompanied migrant children r) the Committee brings to the State party’s attention its general comment No. 6 (2005) on the treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin." 2010
2010

NON-TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Visits by Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council
Year of Visit
Observation Date
Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography 1999
1999
2015
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences 2004
2004
2015
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 2004
2004
2015
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions 2006
2006
2015
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants 2008
2008
2015
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health 2010
2010
2015
Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography 2012
2012
2015
Relevant Recommendations by UN Special Procedures
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants §128. El Relator Especial considera que el Estado debería garantizar que las víctimas de trata de personas, una vez hayan sido identificadas, no sean objeto de detención ni sean procesadas o sancionadas por el carácter irregular de su ingreso y permanencia en el país. En este sentido, es necesario fortalecer los mecanismos actuales para la lucha contra la trata de personas con el fin de que las víctimas reciban la asistencia y protección adecuada y se inicien las investigaciones que procedan contra aquellas personas responsables. §129. El Relator Especial recomienda que el Estado considere habilitar centros especiales para las víctimas de trata de personas, distintos de los centros de detención para migrantes, los cuales reúnan los requisitos necesarios para atender sus necesidades. §133. El Relator Especial recomienda que se respecten y apliquen a los migrantes que se encuentran en situación de detención administrativa, los principios internacionales para la protección de todas las personas que se encuentran privadas de su libertad, respetándose el derecho de establecer comunicación con el exterior, tener acceso a un representante legal y consular, y a sus familiares, y ser informado de ser posible en un idioma que comprenda, de los motivos de su detención y los derechos procesales que le asisten. §134. El Relator Especial insta a las autoridades a realizar las modificaciones pertinentes en su legislación nacional, con el fin de establecer un plazo máximo de detención que en ningún caso podrá ser indefinido ni tener una duración excesiva 2009
2009
2009
Relevant Recommendations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2008
2017
No 2012

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
ACHR, American Convention on Human Rights 1978
1978
IACPPT, Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture 1986
1986
IACFDP, Inter-American convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons 1999
1999
CBDP, Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem do Para) 1995
1995
APACHR, Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 2000
2000

DETENTION COSTS

OUTSOURCING

FOREIGN SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR DETENTION OPERATIONS