The Mexican government works to deal with a major uptick in U.S. deportation flights as the Trump administration sends migrants across the globe. The increase is part of the administration’s goal to execute the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to operate nine flights to Mexico this week, according to agency sources who spoke to NewsNation. Typically, one such flight occurs each week.
How many migrants has the US deported?
ICE Air Operations claimed the U.S. has deported more than 142,000 people this year, including 38,000 Mexican nationals. Mexico has taken in its own citizens, as well as about 5,000 deportees from other nations, according to the Border Report.
However, Mexico’s interior minister said welcome centers in northern Mexican states have served only 14,300 natives since President Donald Trump took office in January. The minister said many migrants do not stay at the shelters, just take personal hygiene kits and leave.
Tent cities see lack of demand
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The facilities offer free lodging, meals, medical services and a $100 debit card. The centers have issued approximately 9,300 debit cards to date.
The centers, including one in Juarez, can serve up to 2,500 people. It’s part of the “Mexico Embraces You” policy under President Claudia Sheinbaum, who set up the program when speculation over Trump’s mass deportation plan began.
The facilities offer free lodging, meals, medical services and a debit card worth more than $100. So far, according to Mexican officials, 12,200 migrants have stayed overnight at the 10 centers near the U.S.-Mexico border. Authorities at the centers have issued approximately 9,300 debit cards to date.
The facilities have also provided rides to Mexican nationals back to their home states, but only about 2,000 people have accepted this offer, according to Border Report.
Why are migrant relief centers seeing low-numbers?
Some Mexican officials have pushed for the centers to close because of low demand. But Sheinbaum’s administration has kept them open over fears of a sudden surge in deportations.
Federal officials also noted that the U.S. flew many deported migrants to southern Mexican states, placing them out of reach of the migrant relief centers near the northern border.
Where else has the Trump administration sent migrants?
The Trump administration has also attempted to ramp up deportation flights to other countries, according to Politico. The U.S. has already struck deals with El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica to accept deportees.
The administration has reportedly engaged in talks with Yemen and Rwanda and briefly detained migrants at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Immigrant advocates warned that sending migrants to destinations that documented human rights abuses in most countries accepting deportees from the U.S. risked their safety and lives.
Mexico has not formally agreed to take in migrants. However, Sheinbaum said the country will accept them due to humanitarian needs.
Why is it controversial?
The Trump administration has also faced legal setbacks in deportation flights, particularly to El Salvador and Libya. Trump used a rarely employed 18th-century law known as the Alien Enemies Act to deport some 200 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, arguing they are dangerous criminals who were part of an “invasion” of the U.S.
The Supreme Court permitted deportations to resume, but only if migrants have a reasonable opportunity to present their cases before a judge.
The nation’s high court also ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who lived in Maryland at the time of his deportation. Administration officials argued they do not have the authority to bring him back, while El Salvador’s president has dismissed the idea of sending Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.
Border crossings hit historic lows
Crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have reached historic lows since Trump took office, coinciding with an increased military presence and intensified deportation efforts.
Democrats, though, have criticized the administration’s efforts, calling some of them unconstitutional. Critics particularly pointed to the lack of due process for Abrego Garcia and many others facing deportation.
