The Trump administration has been quietly deporting migrants from Mexico to different countries in Central America despite the Mexican government’s willingness to accept the return of all its citizens, two Department of Homeland Security officials told CBS News.

U.S. immigration authorities have been sending deportees from Mexico to Guatemala and Honduras, flying them around Mexican territory instead of returning them to their homeland, the DHS officials said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The officials said one of the objectives of the deportations, which have not been formally announced by the U.S. government, is to deter illegal immigration from Mexico by sending some of its citizens further south and farther away from the U.S.-Mexico border.

… The deportations have been occurring for months and have sent hundreds of Mexican citizens to Honduras and Guatemala, one of the DHS officials said. It was not immediately clear what the precise number is.