Deportation by Military Plane Has Begun, White House Says

Military aircraft have started taking undocumented immigrants in the US out of the country, the White House announced Friday. "Deportation flights have begun," Karoline Leavitt posted on X. "President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences." She included photos of handcuffed people boarding a military plane, the Hill reports. Hundreds of people have been flown out, per CBS News.

Immigration advocates called out the Trump administration for its claim. "Are these people seriously trying to suggest the deportation flights have not already been going on?" Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council wrote on X. "They're lying to you. The Biden administration had already ramped up deportations from the border to a higher level than it was under the Trump admin." Officials said it's the use of military craft to remove immigrants that's new, per CBS.

Trump was asked about the flights when he arrived in North Carolina on Friday. "Deportation is going very well," he told reporters. "We're getting the bad, hard criminals out." A Defense Department official said two flights went to Guatemala overnight, carrying 81 deportees. A Guatemalan official said it was 79—31 women and 48 men. (More President Trump stories.)