Mexico temporarily refused to allow the plane carrying illegal migrants to land in the country on Thursday
The deportation flight was blocked from leaving the US after two Air Force C-17 flights, to Guatemala, successfully took off Thursday night, NBC reported, citing two defense officials and a third person familiar with the situation.
The flight rejection appeared to be confusion over the Department of Defense flight manifest, according to Fox News’s Bill Melugin, who cited a senior State Department official.
“Per the official, Mexico was full steam ahead to accept the deportations – and would have if there hadn’t been a misunderstanding regarding the paperwork,” he tweeted.
Realtime Statistics
About 2,000 illegal migrants were deported to Mexico Thursday, with the nation detaining around 5,000 within its borders, Melugin added.
As of Friday night, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has made 593 arrests, with 449 detainers lodged, the agency posted on X.
On Tuesday, Trump’s first day in office, federal officials swept into sanctuary cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Denver, and Philadelphia. Over 300 illegal migrants accused of crimes were arrested. The detainees were from more than a dozen nations.
