United States military C-17 aircraft began flying out migrants on orders from U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, January 24, 2025.
This is just as the Pentagon prepared to send more troops to the southern border, including from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne division.
Trump in his first day in office declared illegal immigration a national emergency, tasking the U.S. military with aiding border security, issuing a broad ban on asylum, and taking steps to restrict citizenship for children born on American soil.
His January 20 executive order instructed the Pentagon to send as many troops as necessary to obtain “complete operational control of the southern border of the United States”.
“Deportation flights have begun,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X.
On Friday, two U.S. military aircraft, each carrying about 80 migrants, flew from the United States to Guatemala, a U.S. official told reporters.
Trump orders 1,500 troops to U.S.-Mexico border to tackle immigration
Earlier this week, the Trump administration said the U.S. military would be sending 1,500 additional active-duty troops to the border with Mexico.
U.S. officials told Reuters that the military was preparing to send a second wave of troops to the border with Mexico as early as next week, which would likely include troops from the 82nd Airborne.
The official said the additional troops could number in the thousands but a formal decision had not been made.
Troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are usually prepared to deploy at short notice for crises around the world, typically in conflict zones rather than to the United States border with Mexico.
It was reported earlier this week that there had been informal discussions about sending as many as 10,000 troops over time, though a final figure had not been determined and troop numbers would depend on several factors, including impact on military readiness.
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