Hundreds of illegal immigrants have been deported from the United States following President Donald Trump’s directive to crack down on illegal immigration.
On his first day in office, Trump issued a series of executive measures focused on combating illegal immigration.
He also labelled the situation at the US-Mexico border a national emergency, and he designated criminal cartels as terrorist groups.
The US president has ended the practice of automatically granting citizenship to children born in the United States to unauthorised immigrants.
Trump also issued an order stopping the US refugee resettlement program for four months.
The enforcement crackdown on the illegal migrants began this week.
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, 538 illegal immigrants were arrested in the first round of operations.
In a post on her X handle, she wrote, “The Trump administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals, including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several individuals convicted of sex crimes against minors.”
However, CBS News reported on Friday that two deportation flights had arrived in Guatemala overnight.
A Guatemalan migration official confirmed the arrivals, stating that one flight from El Paso transported 80 passengers, another from Tucson brought in 80 more, and a third from El Paso carried approximately 105 people.
Leavitt confirmed that the operation was far-reaching, stating, “The Trump Administration has also deported hundreds of illegal immigrant criminals via military aircraft. The largest mass deportation operation in history is well underway.”
This signalled the start of a more concerted attempt to combat illegal immigration as part of Trump’s overall immigration agenda.
