Mexico barred a U.S. military plane from landing on Thursday amid President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to deport immigrants to the country, NBC News reported on Friday night.
NBC News cited two anonymous U.S. defense officials and another informed source.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Friday night.
Why It Matters
Hundreds of undocumented migrants have been arrested since Trump began his second term on Monday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared images of migrants boarding military aircraft on Friday, while announcing that the “deportation flights have begun.”
What To Know
According to the NBC News report, two U.S. Air Force C-17s bound for Guatemala, each carrying around 80 people, flew deportees out of the U.S. on Thursday. However, a third flight, which was scheduled to land in Mexico, did not depart after it was not granted permission to land.
One of the photos shared earlier in the day by the White House account on X, formerly Twitter, was taken at Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, according to Fox News. That flight was reportedly headed for Guatemala, which did not block the deportation flights from landing.
Deportation flights are common, although the use of military aircraft to carry out the deportations only began after Trump returned to the White House on Monday. Regardless of the aircraft involved, all deportation flights require the permission of receiving countries to be successfully executed.
Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” confirmed during in an interview with ABC News’ This Week that military deportation flights would be a “constant commitment” for the Trump administration and would take place “every single day” until “millions and millions” are deported.
A significant number of deportation flights using non-military aircraft were successfully carried out under the administration of former President Joe Biden, with the total number of deportations taking place during the Biden administration far exceeding the number of deportations executed during Trump’s first term.
What People Are Saying
Homan, in a clip taken from his interview on ABC’s This Week: “You’re going to see the number steadily increase, the number of arrests nationwide, as we open up the aperture… If you’re in the country illegally, you’ve got a problem. And that’s why I’m hoping those who are in the country illegally, who have not been ordered removed by a federal judge, should leave.”
Immigration lawyer Nicolette Glazer, in a post to X: “Wow! Mexico has apparently blocked a military deportation jet with 150 or so deportees, previously allotted runway landing. A good reminder to [Trump adviser Stephen] Miller and Homan that repatriation is never a unilateral action.”
What Happens Next
While the future may be uncertain regarding military deportation flights to Mexico, the Trump administration has made it clear that it will continue to use military aircraft to deport migrants, with the president having promised to enact the largest mass deportation in U.S. history during his 2024 presidential campaign.
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