The Trump administration has reportedly been placing Mexican nationals who have entered the country illegally on airplanes in Arizona and flying them back to Mexico, away from the border with the United States. Since December, the Department of Homeland Security has been putting illegal immigrants and those who were ruled to be deportable by an immigration judge on flights from Tuscon, Arizona, and releasing them in Guadalajara, according to Fox News.
Federal immigration officials said the goal of the plan is to physically move migrants further away from the border in an attempt to curb the reflow of those individuals to the U.S. The Trump administration had previously been releasing illegal immigrants near the border with Mexico. A DHS spokeswoman told Fox News:
This is another example of the Trump administration working with the Government of Mexico to address the ongoing border security crisis. Mexico has been a great partner in stopping illegal migration before they reach our border and in standing up the Migrant Protection Protocol, which has allowed us to provide court dates to more than 55,000 individuals.
President Trump has made putting an end to illegal immigration a hallmark of his policy platform as president. He ended President Barack Obama's "catch and release" program, in addition, this new policy of repatriating Mexican aliens farther away from the border is another policy to deter the immediate re-crossing that was all too common during removals of Mexican nationals under previous administrations.
