Guatemala to Campaign for Emigrants to US
The government of Guatemala will campaign with emigration organizations in 2007 for US resident nationals threatened with deportation under tightened US immigration laws.

Guatemalan Foreign Minister Gert Rosenthal went to the United States with Deputy Foreign Minister for Emigration Marta Altolaguirre to seek guarantees for the Guatemalans.

After meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rosenthal said they will involve the media and public because nearly half the 1.5 million Guatemalans living in the US are there illegally.

Without promising anything, Rice said she will look into the cases of some of the thousands that fled the domestic armed conflict in Guatemala a decade ago and are now threatened with deportation.

Official sources said 16,327 people were repatriated from January to November 2006, a 4,815 increase compared to 2005.