In EL PASO, Texas, Fox News was granted exclusive access to observe the most recent deportation flight transporting over 80 illegal migrants back to Ecuador. The migrants were loaded onto a C-17 military aircraft in El Paso, Texas, for their repatriation.
U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Supervisor Hamid Nikseresht emphasized the message to deter illegal immigration, stating, “The key message here is, ‘not today, not today, not tomorrow, not next week.’” He strongly advised against attempting to enter the United States unlawfully.
The plane took off from Biggs Army Airfield around 11 a.m. on Tuesday. 43 females and 37 males, including several family units, were deported.
The individuals being deported are migrants from Ecuador who violated U.S. immigration laws by illegally crossing the border. Border patrol authorities clarified that these individuals had already been apprehended, having been discovered between border checkpoints, involved in smuggling activities, or hiding in stash houses.
Fox News got an exclusive look at a repatriation flight from Texas to Ecuador. (Fox News)
According to the CBP, the C-17 is a huge asset to get illegal migrants back to their home countries quickly.
“With the support of our Department of Defense partners, we’re sending the message that if it takes you 30, 60 or 90 days in some cases, to come to the United States illegally, enter once you’re found amenable to removal under Title 8, we can have you back in your home country within seven hours,” Nikseresht said. “That puts you pretty much anywhere in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and anywhere in between.”
Flight crewmembers told Fox News they were the same crewmembers who brought the illegal migrants to Colombia over the weekend and initially were turned away by the Colombian government.
President Trump threatened tariffs, and the president of Colombia quickly backed down, sending a strong message to other countries who think about not accepting these flights with its citizens.
