A U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying 80 deportees, who were restrained at their wrists and ankles, departed from Texas en route to Guatemala on Thursday. This flight marks a continuation of the military’s enhanced involvement in immigration enforcement activities. The journey originated from Fort Bliss, an Army facility located in El Paso, and was expected to last about seven hours—approximately twice the duration of a direct flight—due to the military’s restriction against flying over Mexico, as noted by U.S. Border Patrol representative Orlando Marrero. Among those aboard were eight children.
Marrero emphasized a clear warning to potential border-crossers, stating, “The message that we have for those people is that if you cross the border illegally, we are going to deport you to your country of origin in a matter of hours.” This statement underscores the administration’s commitment to strict immigration enforcement.
The Trump administration has adopted a strategy involving the use of military aircraft for deportations to countries such as Guatemala, Ecuador, and Colombia. This approach contrasts with the previous practices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which primarily utilized charter and commercial flights for such purposes. U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from a Texas border district, highlighted the logistical challenges of using military planes, pointing out that certain countries may have reservations about their entry. “It’s something that logistically has to be worked out with the country before, because you don’t want to have a plane turned around in midair,” Cuellar remarked.
In a notable incident from the previous Sunday, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro turned away two U.S. military planes carrying migrants, a move that prompted Trump to impose 25% tariffs on Colombian exports. However, Colombia later agreed to accept the migrants, with an assurance that they would be flown on Colombian military aircraft, which Petro asserted would treat them with dignity.
Last week, the Pentagon initiated the deployment of active-duty personnel to the U.S.-Mexico border, although the specific nature of their roles remains uncertain. Historically, military involvement has focused on support tasks, including surveillance, infrastructure building, and vehicle maintenance, since the administration of George W. Bush. There is an existing 1878 law that restricts military participation in civilian law enforcement, yet the Trump administration has hinted at the possibility of invoking wartime powers to bypass this limitation. Trump previously articulated that the Defense Department could play a role in detention and transportation as part of his Inauguration Day declaration of a border emergency, emphasizing that these aspects incur significant expenses.
Recently, Trump announced plans to utilize a U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the detention of migrants, claiming it could accommodate up to 30,000 individuals—almost doubling the current detention capacity of ICE. Yael Schacher, who leads the Americas and Europe division at Refugees International, characterized the use of military aircraft for deportations as an unusual but primarily symbolic act.
