A United States military C-17 aircraft has departed with Indian migrants onboard on January 3, according to a Reuters report citing a US official.
This marks a significant step in the Donald Trump administration’s immigration efforts and is part of a broader strategy involving military support for immigration enforcement and deportation, it added.
Indian Migrants Deported on C-17 Military Aircraft
India is the farthest destination of the military has transported flights for migrants, as per the report. It added that Trump has increasingly sought out military assistance to carry out his immigration agenda.
Moves in this direction include sending additional personnel to the US-Mexico border and using military aircrafts for deportation. He is also using military bases to house arrested migrants, as per the report..
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the C-17 aircraft had departed for India with migrants aboard but would not arrive for at least 24 hours.
The Pentagon has also started providing flights to deport more than 5,000 immigrants held by U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.
So far, military aircraft have flown migrants to Guatemala, Peru and Honduras.
The military flights are a costly way to transport migrants. Reuters reported that a military deportation flight to Guatemala last week likely cost at least $4,675 per migrant.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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