Mexican authorities blocked a US military plane from deporting illegal migrants on Thursday after President Trump’s immigration crackdown began.
US officials told NBC News that a jet filled with illegal immigrants bound for Mexico never took off after authorities south of the border rejected the move.
The flight was one of three that were set to take off on Thursday, alongside two Guatemala-bound Air Force C-17s carrying over 150 people, as part of what Trump has described as the largest mass deportation effort in US history.
Deporting migrants to foreign countries requires permission from the incoming nation’s government, which Mexico declined on Thursday.
It is not clear why Mexican authorities moved to block the flight, which came hours after an American hiker was also shot by suspected Mexican cartel members in California a few hundred yards north of the border.
Trump’s return to the White House quickly inflamed relations between the two nations, with the new president threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on Mexican imports in retaliation for mass migration across southern border.
As he toured natural disaster sites in North Carolina and California on Friday, Trump issued a stern warning to illegal migrants with criminal records, saying ‘we’re taking them out first.‘
While Mexican authorities have shown their disapproval for the deportations, Trump’s administration has praised their own efforts this week, with new Secretary of State Marco Rubio also posting a video of migrants being marched onto the military aircrafts to Guatemala on Thursday.
Mexican authorities blocked a US military plane from deporting illegal migrants on Thursday amid rising tensions between the two nations
Two other flights set for Guatemala (pictured) arrived late in the day
The surprise move from Mexico came as President Trump’s deportation crackdown began
The deportation flights were part of a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants ordered by Trump in the early days of his presidency.
On Thursday, it was revealed that his immigration force has arrested over 1,300 illegal migrants, with Border Czar Tom Homan pledging to continue ramping up the effort.
Homan told NewsNation on Thursday night that of the 1,300 migrants arrested so far, ‘over 1,000 of them were criminals.’
He slammed sanctuary city policies for having allowed migrants with long rap sheets remain in US cities as they declined to alert ICE of their whereabouts during the Biden-era.
‘I don’t care if Republican or Democrat, Independent, why not let law enforcement go into a county jail, taxpayer county jail, to arrest the guy that you locked in a jail cell so obviously, the public safety threat that will solve a lot of this problem,’ he said.
‘And I hope the sanctuary cities come around.’
The updated ICE statistics come after federal authorities said Tuesday that a sweep of sanctuary cities led to the arrest of over 300 illegal migrants on Trump’s first full day.
Donald Trump’s deportation force announced Thursday that it has arrested over 1,300 illegal migrants in the early days of his presidency as his immigration crackdown began this week
It comes as an additional 1,500 active-duty troops arrived Thursday at the southern border
Four C-17 and C-130 military aircraft were moved to El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California this week for the purposes of deportation flights. One of those C-17’s was the jet rejected by Mexican authorities on Thursday
President Trump’s hardline Border Czar Tom Homan warned that local governments that seek to shield illegal migrants from deportation forces could now face criminal prosecution
Thursday morning also marked the start of Trump’s move to deploy the US military to the southern border, with 1,500 active-duty troops arriving early in the day.
The Pentagon confirmed the 1,000 Army soldiers and 500 Marines deployed south include those from Military Police units as well as combat engineers and intelligence specialists to aid in detection and monitoring of illegal border jumpers.
The additional active forces, which adds to the roughly 2,500 already currently stationed along the border, will also aid in constructing barriers along the border and providing the air power for deportations.
Over 5,400 migrants who are currently in detention in the US will be flown out of the country by the military forces, as a show of force for Trump’s early days back in the White House.
As part of the effort, four C-17 and C-130 military aircraft were moved to El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California this week, an official told Task & Purpose. One of those C-17’s was the jet rejected by Mexican authorities on Thursday.
Trump is planning to send a total of 10,000 active-duty military to the border.
