As the Trump administration begins carrying out its long-promised mass deportation plans with flights out of the country, Mexico has denied an American military aircraft carrying migrants permission to land within its borders. The plane never took off due to miscommunication between the two countries and issues with the flight’s manifest. Two other military C-17 aircraft carrying around 80 people each did leave the country for Guatemala, according to the State Department.
The issues with the Mexico-bound plane that stopped it from taking off do not reflect a broader policy from the Mexican government opposing repatriation flights. Mexico’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying that they have a “very great relationship” with the United States on immigration and would accept repatriated Mexicans “with open arms.” However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum did object to the return of Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their cases would be adjudicated instead of staying in the U.S. Sheinbaum has stated that Mexico will take in noncitizen asylum seekers as a “humanitarian” action, but also that such a policy from the United States would require Mexico’s agreement, which it has not given.
Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan confirmed to ABC’s Martha Raddatz Friday that flights like those from this week are going to continue with “constant commitment” until “millions and millions” are deported. Homan explained that the administration is prioritizing those they believe to be dangerous and public safety threats at the moment, but as they “open up the aperture” over time, the plan will include deporting people who have not had any trouble with the law.
Trump had stated repeatedly before taking office that his plan is to deport more than ten million people. To consider this in a realistic perspective, if his plan continues with military planes carrying eighty people at a time like those that left for Guatemala on Friday, that will amount to 125,000 flights to reach that number of people deported. This is the equivalent of three months’ worth of flight traffic passing through John F. Kennedy International Airport.
