Trump Administration Stops Using Military Aircraft for Migrant Deportations; Here's Why

Trump's administration has stopped using military aircraft to deport migrants due to high costs. The decision comes after Trump used military planes to send a message about his tough stance on illegal immigration.

US President Donald Trump.

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Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly stopped using the military aircraft to deport migrants who entered the United States illegally due to high costs, reports NDTV, quoting The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report. The development comes amid the US president’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The report mentions that America started using the military aircraft to transport some migrants to their home countries or a military base at Guantanamo Bay soon after Trump took office in January.

Trump reportedly used the military planes for deportation as he 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 as quoted by NDTV.

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

According to the report citing flight-tracking data, the Trump administration has conducted roughly 30 migrant flights using C-17 aircraft and about a dozen on C-130. Destinations included India, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, Panama, and Guantanamo Bay.

Three deportation flights to India have costed $3 million each. Some flights carried a dozen people to Guantanamo at a cost of at least $20,000 per migrant, the Journal’s analysis showed.

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