Chained by their hands and boarded onto a military plane. This marks the beginning of U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign to deport undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes in the United States or in their home countries.
“As promised, President Donald Trump is sending a strong message to the world: those who enter the United States illegally will face severe consequences,” said the White House.
The dramatic image was published on social media, in fact, by the White House itself, confirming that deportation flights have already begun. Authorities have reported that more than 538 immigrants have been arrested, with hundreds of them already repatriated through flights provided by military aircraft.
The mass deportation operation began just days after President Trump signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and called for concrete plans to address what he referred to as “criminal immigrants.”
He has also ordered the deployment of up to 10,000 military troops to protect the southern border from what he considers “an invasion of refugees.” Fox News reports that the federal immigration agency in the U.S. has carried out several high-profile arrests, particularly in the Boston area.
