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Tag: deportations

First images released of migrant flights to Gitmo as Trump ramps up deportations

The first flight of migrants to Guantanamo Bay took off Tuesday, and Fox News Digital obtained some of the first images of migrants boarding a military plane for a detention center.

Trump announced last week he would instruct the Pentagon to prepare the site to hold around 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens” at the military base.

“I can also confirm that today the first flights from the United States to Guantanamo Bay with illegal migrants are underway,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.

US BEGINS FLYING MIGRANTS TO GUANTANAMO BAY

This image shows migrants boarding a flight to Guantanamo Bay. (Department of Homeland Security)

“And so President Trump, Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem are already delivering on this promise to utilize that capacity at Gitmo for illegal criminals who have broken our nation’s immigration laws and then have further committed heinous crimes against lawful American citizens here at home.”

The first flight was scheduled to leave Fort Bliss with about a dozen migrants on board. They will be separated from the 15 detainees already there, who include alleged 9/11 planners, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

“Some of them are so bad, we don’t even trust their countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back,” Trump said last week of the migrants being sent there. “We’re going to send them to Guantanamo.”

TRUMP-ERA SOUTHERN BORDER SEES MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS PLUMMET BY OVER 60% AS NEW POLICIES KICK IN

A migrant prepares to board a flight to Guantanamo Bay. (Department of Homeland Security)

About 380 service members are supporting the holding operations at Naval Station Guantanamo, U.S. Southern Command said Tuesday, adding that the number of service members will continue to fluctuate based on DHS requirements.

The Trump administration has not said how much it would cost to expand Guantanamo, which was established in 2002 to detain foreign militants after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

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This image shows migrants boarding a military flight to Guantanamo Bay. (Department of Homeland Security)

It’s part of a broader effort by the administration to launch a “historic” deportation operation. Trump announced Saturday that Venezuela had agreed to take back its nationals who are in the U.S. illegally, days after a diplomatic spat with Colombia that resulted in that nation also agreeing to take back flights of illegal immigrants.

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Trump on his first day in office deployed the military to the border and declared a national emergency, while also enacting measures to prevent migrants from being able to claim asylum in the U.S.

DHS has since taken a number of measures to free up ICE agents to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, and officers are frequently arresting over 1,000 a day.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

February 4, 2025
Los Angeles leaders push for bill to impede Trump deportations

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Los Angeles city leaders on Tuesday introduced legislation to protect immigrant communities amid unrest due to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez introduced five proposals aimed at strengthening labor and immigration protections, which he said would address renewed threats of mass deportations, work-site raids and targeted enforcement actions, Fox Los Angeles reported.

“We are here today because, unfortunately, we have a president who wants to scapegoat and attack our immigrant neighbors,” Martinez said during a news conference outside City Hall alongside council members Eunisses Hernandez, Imelda Padilla and Ysabel Jurado and several immigrant rights, labor, legal and community groups. “And we are not going to take that lightly.

BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SENDS MESSAGE TO FAR-LEFT OFFICIALS PUSHING BACK AGAINST MASS DEPORTATIONS: ‘GAME ON’

Los Angeles City Council Member Hugo Soto-Martinez watches proceedings inside council chambers at City Hall in downtown Los Angeles Sept. 20, 2024. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“The legislation will make sure that we’re prepared and that we’re ready to fight back, which involves a comprehensive ‘know your rights’ campaign across the entire city so immigrants and employers understand their rights and don’t fall victim to ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) intimidation.”

‘DEPORTATION FLIGHTS HAVE BEGUN’ AS TRUMP SENDS ‘STRONG AND CLEAR MESSAGE,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS

A large group of people protesting President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration stormed the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles Sunday, creating major traffic delays, according to police. (FOX 11 Los Angeles)

The legislation will be heard by the council’s Civil Rights & Immigration Committee before a vote.

If approved, it would reaffirm the city’s commitment to protecting its migrant community from possible deportation. In November, the council and Mayor Karen Bass formally established Los Angeles as a so-called sanctuary city.

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The move by Soto-Martinez came after two days of protests during which demonstrators took over the 101 freeway and local streets to oppose Trump’s mass deportation plans of illegal immigrant criminals.

February 4, 2025
‘Bumbling idiot’: Freshman GOP senator unleashes on blue city mayor, Dems opposing Trump’s deportations

Ohio GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson as the “worst mayor in American history” and called on liberal mayors across the country to focus on making life better for their citizens, as opposed to blocking President Donald Trump’s education efforts.

“My message to the mayors of those cities is, why don’t you do this for a change, why don’t you actually advocate for the American citizens that live in your communities, help them with better schools, better housing and better security rather than protecting criminal illegals that shouldn’t even be in this country in the first place,” the freshman senator told Fox News Digital. “And I think when the voters of those cities see what these mayors are doing, they’re going to throw them out.”

“The mayor of Chicago is probably the worst mayor in American history,” Moreno continued. “He’s just going for extra credit. The guy is a total and complete bumbling idiot. So, hopefully, the voters of Chicago take care of that pretty quickly.”

Johnson has been one of the more outspoken mayors calling for resistance to Trump’s immigration and deportation efforts, saying recently that his city is “going to protect undocumented individuals” from ICE raids.

INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST SHERIFF FOR DEFYING FEDS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Ohio GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno told Fox News Digital that Democratic mayors should focus on protecting their citizens and not opposing Trump. (Fox News Digital/Getty)

The Chicago mayor’s office acknowledged Fox News Digital’s inquiry by labeling Moreno’s comment “ad hominem criticism,” but did not expand on their response.

Some Chicago residents have voiced frustration with Johnson’s public opposition to Trump, including P Rae Easley, a Chicagoan and host of “Black Excellence Hour,” in an interview with “Fox & Friends First.”

“We understand that we are in the middle of an invasion,” Easley said. “Every single person who came across that border came with an invoice on their back for the Chicago taxpayer.”

Despite calls from Johnson and other mayors pledging to block Trump’s efforts, ICE agents across the country have deported hundreds of illegal immigrants in the first few days of Trump’s administration.

Moreno praised Trump’s efforts and said he anticipates the flurry of immigration moves from Trump in recent days to continue.

“It’s amazing,” Moreno told Fox News Digital. “I mean, President Trump knows the urgency that we need to get safety and security back to our cities. Look, these criminal aliens should never have been allowed to be in this country in the first place. Joe Biden put this country in jeopardy for four years and President Trump’s going to clean it up really fast.”

UP TO 250,000 CHILDREN BORN TO ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN 2023: PRELIMINARY REPORT

Bernie Moreno, then a Senate candidate, addresses the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

The new administration’s efforts to roll back illegal immigration has gained support from Democrats in certain situations, including the passage of the Laken Riley Act, which had the support of 48 Democrats in the House.

Moreno, when asked if that vote shows Democrats are becoming increasingly more open to addressing the illegal immigration issue, said, “Absolutely.”

“I mean, look, this should be an American issue, like we want legal immigrants to come here safely, securely in a way that benefits this country, not by breaking into this country, paying drug cartel members who rape them and beat them along the journey,” Moreno said. “It’s the most disgusting way to welcome migrants to this country, especially fake asylum claims. We have a bill that’s going to stop that.”

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Mayor Brandon Johnson responds to a question during a news conference on Oct. 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

“Look, if you’re a true refugee, we’re going to have a safe process for you to come to this country. If you’re an economic migrant, you got to wait in line. You can’t use asylum as a way to skip a line ahead of millions of people, which is fundamentally unfair. And I think a lot of Democrats will come on board with my bill.”

Moreno recently introduced the Refugees Using Legal Entry Safely (RULES) Act, which aims to reform the way asylum seekers enter the United States.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].

January 27, 2025
Dems ask Trump USDA pick who will do ‘backbreaking’ farming amid mass deportations

Democratic lawmakers are worried American farms will suffer under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiative.

Approximately 40% of crop farmworkers are not approved to work in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Agricultural Workers Survey, and Democratic lawmakers are curious about who will step in to work in the heat or cold.

As a result, senators questioned Trump’s pick to lead the Agriculture Department, Brooke Rollins, about whether mass deportation under the Trump administration will undermine the farming workforce.

“Can we expect this administration to be raiding farms, going after the immigrant farmers?” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said during Rollins’ confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Thursday.

‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY:’ TRUMP DECLARES AMBITIOUS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Committee chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks during a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“Listen, the president’s vision of a secure border and a mass deportation at a scale that matters is something I support,” Rollins said.

Rollins then promised to help Trump execute his agenda, while also “defending” American farmers and ranchers.

“But when you’re talking about massive deportation, we’ve gone beyond dangerous criminals,” Durbin said. “I just wonder if we ought to give fair warning to farmers and ranchers across America that if you have immigrant labor, you can expect federal agents to come and search your property.”

“I have not been involved in the president’s current plan, I cannot answer that one way or the other,” Rollins said.

Trump has promised to take an aggressive approach to border security and illegal immigration, and the Department of Homeland Security issued a notice Tuesday to green-light expedited deportation of illegal immigrants.

‘PROMPT REMOVAL:’ TRUMP DHS EXPANDS EXPEDITED DEPORTATION POWERS AS OPERATIONS RAMP UP

Brooke Rollins attends a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing on her nomination for Secretary of Agriculture, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Other Democratic senators, including Peter Welch of Vermont and Adam Schiff of California, echoed similar sentiments regarding the implications of mass deportation on farms.

While the lawmakers acknowledged that those who pose a public safety threat shouldn’t remain in the U.S., they also said Americans are less inclined to work in the harsh conditions that farming requires than illegal immigrants.

Schiff said estimates suggest half of California’s farm workforce is undocumented, and asked Rollins how farmers were supposed to survive if half their workforce is cut, because “Americans don’t want to do that work,” since it’s “too backbreaking.” As a result, Schiff asked who would work on California’s farms.

Rollins said she would work with the committee and with the Labor Department on the matter.

“We will work together to understand and hopefully solve for some of these problems. The dairy cattle have to be milked, but if we’ve got a mass deportation program underway, then there’s a lot of work that we need to do,” Rollins said.

TRUMP BORDER CZAR REVEALS ICE TEAMS ARE ALREADY ARRESTING ‘PUBLIC SAFETY THREATS’

Brooke Rollins, U.S. President Trump’s nominee to be secretary of agriculture, testifies before a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 23, 2025. (Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters)

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also voiced concerns about how farmers will fare, should Trump follow through on his plans to implement tariffs. Trump’s economic plan calls for imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 20% on all imported goods.

When Trump’s first administration imposed tariffs, China issued their own retaliatory tariffs that cost the federal government billions of dollars in government aid to farmers.

“I’m trepidacious that this is going to come back to our farmers,” Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said.

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“My commitment is that there will be no sleeping, that we will work around the clock to ensure that our AG communities across this country are represented in those discussions and at the table,” Rollins said.

Rollins previously worked as the director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first term. After working for the Trump administration, Rollins co-founded the America First Policy Institute think tank.

The secretary of the Agriculture Department is responsible for managing farm and nutrition, forestry, food safety, rural development, and agricultural research.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.

January 23, 2025
Mexico scrambles to build tents to handle mass deportations from US

The Mexican government is building large encampments in Ciudad Juárez to receive an expected influx of Mexicans returned to their native country by President Donald Trump’s promised mass deportations.

Tent shelters in Ciudad Juárez are made to temporarily house thousands of people and will be prepared in just a few days, city official Enrique Licon told Reuters.

“It’s unprecedented,” Licon said Tuesday of Mexico’s plan to build shelter and reception centers in nine cities south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Authorities at the site will reportedly provide deported Mexicans with food, temporary housing, medical care and assistance in obtaining identity documents, Reuters reported.

TRUMP’S ICE RACKS UP HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS, INCLUDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR HORROR CRIMES

A member of the Mexican Navy walks amidst the structure of an industrial warehouse tent, which will be used by Mexican authorities as a temporary shelter for migrants deported from the United States, in Mexicali, Mexico, Jan. 22, 2025. (REUTERS/Victor Medina)

The government will also provide transportation for Mexican nationals to return to their hometowns.

Trump campaigned on launching the largest mass deportations of illegal immigrants in U.S. history and began that effort after assuming office on Monday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already made more than 460 arrests, targeting illegal immigrants with criminal records, including for violent crimes.

Information obtained by Fox News Digital shows that between midnight Jan. 21 and 9 a.m. on Jan, 22, a 33-hour period, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 460 illegal immigrants whose criminal histories include sexual assault, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, drugs and weapons offenses, resisting arrest and domestic violence.

Agents arrested nationals from a slew of countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Senegal and Venezuela.

‘PROMPT REMOVAL’: TRUMP DHS EXPANDS EXPEDITED DEPORTATION POWERS AS OPERATIONS RAMP UP

A drone view shows workers setting up an industrial warehouse tent, which will be used by Mexican authorities as a temporary shelter for migrants deported from the United States, in Mexicali, Mexico, Jan. 22, 2025. (REUTERS/Victor Medina)

Arrests took place across the U.S. including Illinois, Utah, California, Minnesota, New York, Florida and Maryland.

Nearly five million Mexicans are living in the United States without authorization, according to an analysis by Mexican think tank El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF) based on recent U.S. census data.

President Donald Trump has begun his policy of mass deportations to combat criminal illegal aliens. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Many are from parts of central and southern Mexico wracked by violence and poverty. Some 800,000 illegally present Mexicans in the United States are from Michoacan, Guerrero and Chiapas, according to the COLEF study, where fierce battles between organized crime groups have forced thousands to flee in recent years, sometimes leaving whole towns abandoned.

Trump has swiftly restarted policies aimed to halt the flow of migrants into the U.S. that former President Biden had ended. On Monday, the Trump administration ended the CBP One app program, which allowed migrants waiting in Mexico to schedule an appointment to enter the U.S. legally. Then on Tuesday, Trump reinstated Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), a requirement that non-Mexican asylum seekers wait in Mexico until their cases are resolved.

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Immigration activists worry that Trump’s strict immigration policies will overwhelm Mexico with deportees, but the government insists it is prepared.

“Mexico will do everything necessary to care for its compatriots, and will allocate whatever is necessary to receive those who are repatriated,” Mexico’s Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez said on Monday at a press conference, according to Reuters.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Reuters contributed to this report.

Chris Pandolfo is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.

January 23, 2025