Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs New figures show that the recent deportation flights from the U.S. to Colombia and Guatemala have far exceeded the price of a chartered or even first-class seat on a commercial flight, making the Trump administration’s approach to returning illegal immigrants more than eight times more expensive than previous administrations’ efforts.Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon and ICE for comment on Thursday.Why It MattersTrump initiated his long-promised plan to deport illegal immigrants within the first week of his new administration. The first flights, which used large military aircraft, started taking off last Friday.
A U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants to be deported to Guatemala is ready for takeoff as soldiers stand on the tarmac at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, Thursday, January 30, 2025.
A U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants to be deported to Guatemala is ready for takeoff as soldiers stand on the tarmac at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, Thursday, January 30, 2025.
AP
Trump made immigration a central theme of his successful presidential campaign, with Americans largely supporting his deportation promises. A recent New York Times/Ipsos poll, carried out from January 2 to 10, found 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans.What To KnowIn the first week of Trump’s second term, the Department of Homeland Security reported deporting about 7,300 people of various nationalities.To carry out some of these deportations, the U.S. has deployed C-17 Globemaster III transport planes, which cost an estimated $28,500 per flight hour, a senior U.S. defense official told Newsweek.So far, four such flights have landed—all in Guatemala. Colombia, however, refused to allow two of the aircraft to land, opting instead to send its own planes to retrieve its nationals after a brief standoff with Trump last weekend.Significant CostsThe four deportation flights to Guatemala came at a steep cost. The Guatemalan government confirmed that a C-17 military transport plane landed on Monday with 64 deportees on board.Accounting for the per-hour operating cost, those expenses reached around $4,675 per person—far exceeding the roughly $850 price of a first-class commercial ticket from El Paso to Guatemala City.In contrast, deportation flights operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which use Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft, cost about $630 per deportee.
Two Colombian Air Force planes carrying deportees from the U.S. landed at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá on Tuesday.
Two Colombian Air Force planes carrying deportees from the U.S. landed at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá on Tuesday.
Juan Sebastian Cuellar – Government of Colombia
The pair of C-17s repatriating detainees to Colombia would have been costly as well, had they completed their journeys. The flights took off from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., on Jan. 25, heading to Bogotá, Colombia. The first, under the call-sign Reach 538, turned back near the Texas Gulf Coast and landed in Houston. The second, Reach 539, took off hours later with the intent to stop in El Paso, but returned to base shortly after departure. U.S. officials confirmed the diversions to Newsweek.At $28,500 per flight hour, the first round-trip journey from San Diego—had it been completed—would have totaled approximately $427,500 for its 15-hour duration. Similarly, the 12-hour round trip from El Paso would have cost around $342,000.In total, if both flights had landed, the U.S. government would have spent $769,500 on just those two deportation attempts, translating to an estimated $3,827 per deportee.For comparison, while there are no direct flights from San Diego or El Paso to Bogotá, business-class tickets from Los Angeles and Houston on the same route can cost as little as $450.So far, only Guatemala and Brazil have accepted U.S. military aircraft for deportation flights, while Colombia and Mexico have refused to receive them unless they are chartered civilian planes.What People Are SayingWhite House press secretary Katherine Leavitt, at a press conference on Tuesday: “Migrants who are here illegally are criminals, as far as this administration is concerned. I understand the previous administration didn’t see it that way, so it’s a significant ‘culture shift’ to recognize law-breakers as criminals, but that’s what they are.”Brazil Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said on X (formerly Twitter): “We don’t want to provoke the American government, but it’s essential that deported Brazilians are treated with dignity.”Columnist Andres Oppenheimer, writing in the Miami Herald: “Trump has said he wants to deport most of the estimated 11 to 13 million unauthorized immigrants, but only up to 650,000 of them are estimated to have criminal records. As criminals become harder to find, where do you think Trump will find more potential deportation subjects, if not among those who aren’t criminals?”What Happens NextThe Trump administration has vowed to ramp up its large-scale mass deportation plans.This includes targeting so-called sanctuary cities, which largely limit or deny cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including refusing to notify ICE before releasing illegal immigrants from custody.
