US Suspends Military Flights For Deporting Migrants: Report

Amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, his administration in America has reportedly stopped using the military aircraft to deport migrants who entered the United States illegally due to high costs. The last military deportation flight was sent from the US on March 1, and a pause on such measures could be extended or made permanent, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported. 

America started using military aircraft to transport some migrants to their home countries or a military base at Guantanamo Bay soon after Trump took office in January. But, the measure was proving to be expensive and inefficient, the WSJ report said.

The Trump administration reportedly used the military planes for deportation because it wanted to send a message about their intent to get tough on immigrants in the country illegally.

"The message is clear: If you break the law, if you are a criminal, you can find your way at Guantanamo Bay," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week after watching migrants arrive on a C-130 aircraft during a visit to Guantanamo Bay. 

"You don't want to be at Guantanamo Bay," he added.

Indians Deported In Military Aircraft

Under Trump, America has conducted around 30 migrant flights using C-17 aircraft and about a dozen on C-130, according to flight-tracking data. Destinations included India, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Ecuador and Guantanamo Bay. 

In February, hundreds of Indian deportees, in several batches, arrived in India aboard a US Air Force cargo plane. Upon landing in India, the deportees narrated their ordeals and told that they were shackled and restrained throughout the flight, only to be freed upon arrival in India. 

"Costly Measure"

The deportation of illegal migrants is traditionally overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, which uses commercial flights for the operations. Since the Trump administration wanted to send a message to migrants about their stringent policies, they used military flights. 

However, these planes took longer routes and transported fewer migrants at higher cost to taxpayers than the government's typical deportation flights on civilian aircraft, the WSJ report said. 

It found that three deportation flights to India alone cost $3 million each. Flights to Guantanamo, which carried just a dozen people, had a cost of at least $20,000 per migrant, the report showed. 

In comparison, the government data shows that a standard US Immigration and Customs Enforcement flight costs $8,500 per flight hour.  According to the WSJ report, the figure is closer to $17,000 per flight hour for international trips. 

But, the cost of flying a C-17, which is designed to carry heavy cargo and troops, is $28,500 per hour, according to US Transportation Command, which provided the aircraft. 

Adding to higher flying costs, the C-17s needed to take a longer route as they haven't been using Mexico's airspace, which can add several hours to flights destined for Central and South America, the report said.

Notably, Mexico and some other countries in Latin America, including Colombia and Venezuela, haven't allowed the US military flights to land in their territories and have instead sent their own aircraft or arranged for deportees to travel on commercial flights. 

In January, Colombian President Gustavo Petro denied entry to two C-17 flights, prompting Trump to threaten tariffs. Later, the White House said Colombia had agreed to the "unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens." But no C-17s reportedly landed in the country. Instead, it sent its own aircraft to transport the deportees.

Venezuela in February also sent two commercial flights to pick up 190 people, after years of refusals to accept deported citizens who had entered the US illegally.