US to stop using military aircraft for deportation of illegal immigrants, because it is too costly

The Donald Trump administration has reportedly decided to end the use of US military aircraft to deport illegal immigrants back to their home countries. The high cost of operating the C-17 and C-130 military planes is being cited as the reason for the Trump administration suspending their use.

CREDIT: IANS

No military flights scheduled for deportation?

According to The Wall Street Journal, the last illegal immigrant deportation from the US using a military aircraft was on March 1, and no further flights are currently scheduled.

Since then, only chartered flights have been flown from the US to countries in Asia and Latin America, carrying deportees back to their homelands.

Cost of using military aircraft for deportation?

Ever since Trump began the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, military aircraft have flown 42 times, incurring millions of dollars in expenses.

CREDIT: BCCL

The most expensive such deportation flights were the four trips to India in February, as they were the farthest. According to the WSJ report, the C-17 military aircraft, which was flown to India, costs $28,500 per hour to operate, and one such flight cost $3 million.

Controversy over using military aircraft

The use of military aircraft to deport illegal immigrants has also been controversial in the destination countries. Countries including Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela had rejected the use of military aircraft to deport illegal immigrants from their countries.

CREDIT: REUTERS

Meanwhile, in India, the opposition had protested the use of US military aircraft to deport Indian nationals, calling it an assault on Indian sovereignty. Opposition parties had also protested the US restraining deportees using handcuffs and chains during the flight. The Indian government had played down the controversy, claiming that ICE was only following protocol while pointing out that women and children were not restrained during the flight.

Deportations so far

According to a Reuters report, Trump deported 37,660 people during his first month in office in February, far fewer than the monthly average of 57,000 removals and returns in the last full year of Biden's administration.

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