By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. military C-17 aircraft began flying migrants on Friday on orders from President Donald Trump as the Pentagon prepared to send more troops to the southern border, including from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division.
On his first day in office, Trump declared illegal immigration a national emergency, tasked the US military with helping with border security, issued a broad asylum ban and took steps to limit citizenship for children born on US soil.
His January 20 executive order directed the Pentagon to send as many troops as necessary to gain “full operational control of the southern border of the United States.”
“Deportation flights have begun,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X.
On Friday, two US military planes, each carrying about 80 migrants, flew from the United States to Guatemala, a US official told reporters.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration said the US military would send 1,500 additional active duty troops to the border with Mexico.
US officials told Reuters the military was preparing to send a second wave of troops to the Mexican border as early as next week, likely to include troops from the 82nd Airborne. The official said the additional troops could number in the thousands, but no formal decision had been made.
Troops from the 82nd Airborne Division are usually ready to deploy on short notice to crises around the world, usually in conflict zones rather than the United States’ border with Mexico.
Reuters reported earlier this week that there had been informal discussions about sending as many as 10,000 troops over time, although a final figure has not been set and troop numbers would depend on several factors, including the impact on military readiness.
