White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said early Friday morning deportation flights had begun, marking the first deportation flights using military aircraft since President Dwight Eisenhower was in office, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed U.S. official.
The first deportation flights carrying hundreds of undocumented migrants expelled from the US under newly sworn-in President Donald Trump have landed in Guatemala and Mexico, according to local
Mexico denied a US request to allow a US military aircraft carrying deported migrants to land. Two similar flights landed in Guatemala, but the mission to Mexico was halted after permission was denied.
Two military jets landed in Guatemala City on Friday carrying deported migrants from Tucson, Ariz., and El Paso, according to local migration authorities and the American Embassy in Guatemala.
The plan, called “Mexico Embraces You,” seeks to reassure undocumented migrants facing expulsion. Some experts question if the government is really ready to reabsorb them.
The Pentagon plans to deport over 5,000 migrants, marking a notable shift in military involvement in immigration enforcement.
U.S. military C-17 aircraft began flying detained migrants out of the country on Friday, following orders from President Donald Trump, as the Pentagon prepared to send more troops to the southern border,
An official said it was the first time in recent memory that American military aircraft were being used to fly migrants out of the US.
Mexico has refused a request from US President Donald Trump's administration to allow a US military aircraft deporting migrants to land in the country, a US official and a Mexican official told Reuters.
President Donald Trump is closing out the week with military troops on the border, empowered immigration officers kicking off arrests and raids, and more immigrants at risk of deportation as part of his follow through on his mass deportation promise.
Migrants in shackles have been pictured being loaded onto US military aircraft as Donald Trump hailed the victory as having sent a clear message to people wanting to enter the country illegally. Dozens of migrants were seen boarding US military planes with the flights taking detained migrants out of America.