 "Trump administration reportedly halts use of military aircraft for migrant deportations due to high costs")
synopsis
The Trump administration has stopped using military aircraft for migrant deportations due to high costs and inefficiency.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump administration has halted the use of military aircraft to deport illegal migrants in US, citing high costs and inefficiency. The last military deportation flight took place on March 1, and no further flights are scheduled for the time being.
The use of military planes to transport migrants to their home countries or to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has proven to be a costly endeavor. A report revealed that a US military deportation flight to Guatemala cost at least $4,675 per migrant, which is more than five times the cost of a one-way first-class ticket on American Airlines.
In comparison, commercial charter flights operated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are significantly cheaper. The high costs of military deportation flights can be attributed to operational constraints, such as avoiding Mexican airspace, resulting in longer routes and extended flight times.
The Trump administration launched the military deportation flights in January as part of the national emergency declaration on immigration. Since then, six planeloads of migrants have been sent to Latin America. However, the pause in military deportation flights may become permanent, marking a shift in the administration's immigration enforcement strategy.
Destinations for these deportation flights have included Latin America, with countries such as Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, and Panama receiving deported migrants. Some migrants have also been sent to India, while others have been transported to the US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Trump administration's decision to suspend military deportation flights may be seen as a move towards more cost-effective and efficient deportation methods.
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