WASHINGTON.- United States C-17 military planes began taking immigrants out of the country this Friday on the order of President Donald Trump, as the Pentagon prepared to send even more troops to the southern border, including the elite of the 82nd Airborne division of the Army.
US military aircraft have been used in the past to move people from one country to another, such as during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
However, this was the first time in recent memory that military planes were used to remove migrants from the United States, an official said.
Trump, on his first day in office, declared illegal immigration a national emergency, tasking the U.S. military with assisting with border security, issuing a sweeping asylum ban and taking steps to restrict citizenship for children born here. US.
Read: Trump orders the deployment of 1,500 soldiers to the border with Mexico
His Jan. 20 executive order ordered the Pentagon to send as many troops as necessary to gain “complete operational control of the southern border of the United States.”
“Deportation flights have begun,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X.
On Friday, two U.S. military planes, each carrying about 80 migrants, flew from the United States to Guatemala, a U.S. official told reporters.
The Pentagon has said the US military would provide flights for the deportations of more than 5,000 immigrants held by US authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration said the U.S. military would send an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to the border with Mexico.
U.S. officials told Reuters the Army was preparing to send a second wave of troops to the Mexican border as soon as next week, which would likely include troops from the 82nd Airborne division.
The official said the new troops could be in the thousands, but that no formal decision had yet been made.
Read: Judge blocks Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship: ‘It is clearly unconstitutional’
Troops of the 82nd Airborne Division are typically prepared to deploy on short notice to crises around the world, typically to conflict zones rather than to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Reuters reported earlier this week that there were informal talks about sending up to 10,000 troops, although a final figure had not been determined and the number of troops would depend on several factors, including the impact on military readiness.
During his first term, Republican Trump ordered the sending of 5,200 soldiers to help secure the border with Mexico. Former Democratic President Joe Biden also deployed active-duty troops to the border.
With information from Reuters
Follow us on Google News to always stay informed
