Photo: Alamy
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said that deportation flights are departing daily, but noted the need for Congress to quickly approve funding to continue long-term operations.
Homan shared the update during an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday with Martha Raddatz.
“What price do you put on national security? What price do you put on these young ladies that have been raped and murdered and burned alive?” he said.
“If you don’t secure that border, that’s when sex trafficking goes up. That’s when, you know, the fentanyl comes in and kills a quarter of a million Americans, and I don’t put a price on that,” Homan continued.
The border leader noted that over 500 people were arrested on the first day of deportations last week.
“They lock us out of the jails,” he said. “Instead of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] being able to arrest those people, where the officer is safe, the alien is safe, and the public is safe, they’re released back into the community, which endangers the community. But when we find them, [they’ll] be with others most likely. … If they’re in the country illegally, they’re coming too,” he added.
President Donald Trump’s White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that deportation flights of illegal immigrants have begun.
The new press secretary shared the news alongside images of immigrants walking onto military aircraft for departure.
“Deportation flights have begun,” Leavitt posted to X on Friday.
“President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences,” she added.
One of the photos was taken at Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Fox News confirmed. The plane reportedly holds 80 people and was scheduled for departure to Guatemala.
Several states have also begun to join Trump’s deportation efforts. As RSBN previously reported, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called a special session of the state’s legislature earlier this month to prepare details to implement Trump’s deportation program.
DeSantis announced the session on Monday ahead of Trump’s inauguration next week, stating there is “no time to waste.”
“Today, I called for a special session of the Florida legislature the week of January 27 to prepare Florida to lead on the Trump Administration’s deportation program. We will allocate resources and ensure state and local officials in Florida are supporting these efforts,” he wrote. “We have no time to waste. Florida must lead.”
