Air Force to carry out deportation flights for thousands of migrants

Published January 23, 2025 11:18am ET



The Defense Department plans to use U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s to deport thousands of migrants, one aspect of the military‘s plan to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

Those aircraft, along with their aircrew and a handful of other personnel, will deploy to El Paso, Texas, and San Diego. These crews are in addition to, not included in, the roughly 1,000 Army soldiers and 500 Marines who were deployed Wednesday to the southern border, acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement.

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