The U.S. military will fly about 5,400 migrants currently in detention out of the country as part of the Defense Department’s response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the southern border, defense officials said on Wednesday.
The aircrews and maintainers involved in the deportation flights will be in addition to 1,500 active-duty troops that the Pentagon will deploy to the southern border by the end of the week, the senior defense official said.
On the flights, the Department of Homeland Security will provide in-flight law enforcement and diplomatic clearances will go through the State Department, Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said in a statement.
Both the Department of Homeland Security and State Department are still determining where the migrants will be flown to, a senior defense official told reporters on Wednesday.
The military aircraft have already been moved to El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California, said the senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under rules established by the Pentagon.
A total of four C-17 and C-130 aircraft will be involved in the deportation flights, and other aircraft are on call in case they are needed, a senior military official said. Roughly 100 airmen will be involved with the effort, enough for several crews for each plane plus maintenance and support troops. No information was immediately available about what units they will come from.
Beyond the Air Force flyers, the Pentagon is sending 1,500 troops, about 1,000 of which are soldiers and 500 Marines to the border, the senior military official said. The Marines had been on alert to help firefighters responding to the California wildfires in the last weeks, but as the fires came more under control, the Federal Emergency Management Agency released the Marines from their assignment over the weekend.
“This is just the beginning,” Salesses said in the statement. “In short order, the Department will develop and execute additional missions in cooperation with [the Department of Homeland Security], federal agencies, and state partners to address the full range of threats outlined by the President at our nation’s borders.”
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