First flight of Ecuadorian deportees under new the U.S. immigration policy arrives in Guayaquil

Eighty Ecuadorians returned home to Ecuador Tuesday afternoon, arriving at Guayaquil’s José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport from Texas. According to Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry, it is the first of many migrant flights it expects, as the U.S. government intensifies efforts to expel undocumented migrants.

Some of the first Ecuadorians deported by the U.S. government leave the Guayaquil airport Tuesday afternoon.

The Foreign Ministry says between 30,000 and 40,000 Ecuadorians could be forcibly returned in the coming months under revised U.S. immigration policies.

A ministry spokesman said, however, repatriation of migrants is nothing new, as 32,000 Ecuadorians have been returned from the U.S. since 2022. “We expect the number of flights to increase,” he said. “They are being forcibly returned because they entered the U.S. territory without permission and without the required documentation.”

Employees of several government agencies met the deportees at the airport to provide “emergency humanitarian assistance for their immediate needs.” The assistance included cell phones, cash and food. Several departees were taken to local hospitals for medical treatment.

The Foreign Ministry coordinated the assistance with the ministries of public health and economic and social inclusion as well as the Red Cross.

According to Foreign Minister María Sommerfeld, the government will provide ongoing assistance to returning migrants and is setting up a telephone “hotline” for the purpose.

Several of the migrants said they welcomed the government help but said what they really need is good employment. “The reason I left in the first place is that there were no jobs, no way to support my family,” said Carlos Ortiz, who left his home in Manta in September. “I appreciate the phone so I can call my parents but after I get home, what comes next?”

The migrants also complained about their treatment on the flight from the U.S. “They put us in chains, on our hands, feet and waist, without allowing us to call our families,” said 50-year-old Patricia, a Cuenca native. “They gave us cold food, but how were we going to eat with our hands and feet tied? When we walked down the aisle to the bathroom, we walked like monsters. We were treated worse than animals,” she said.

Patricia said the chains were removed about 20 minutes prior to landing in Guayaquil.

In a U.S. press conference Tuesday, a White House spokeswoman confirmed that those being deported are treated like criminals. “They entered the U.S. illegally, so we consider them criminals and that is why they are being restrained on repatriation flights.”