US military flight deporting migrants to India, official says
PHOTO CAPTION: A detained migrant waits to board a U.S. Air Force aircraft for a removal flight at Fort Bliss, Texas, U.S. January 23, 2025. Dept. of Defense/U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas J. De La Pena/Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. military plane is deporting migrants to India, a U.S. official said on Monday, the farthest destination of the Trump administration's military transport flights for migrants.
President Donald Trump has increasingly turned to the military to help carry out his immigration agenda, including sending additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, using military aircraft to deport migrants and opening military bases to house them.
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.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
