‘A Strong Message’: Trump Administration Begins Deportation Flights

The White House announced Friday morning that deportation flights of illegal immigrants had begun. 

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made the announcement on X, sharing photos of illegal immigrants being boarded onto planes. On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to enact the largest deportation operation in American history. 

“Deportation flights have begun,” Leavitt said. “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.”

Deportation flights have begun.

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. pic.twitter.com/CTlG8MRcY1

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 24, 2025

In a similar post on X, the White House said Trump was sending “a strong message” to the world.

The deportation announcement came after Leavitt said that ICE arrested 538 illegal aliens on Thursday, including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, and multiple people who had been convicted of sex crimes against children. 

She also said that hundreds of illegal immigrants had been deported using military aircraft. 

“The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway,” she said. “Promises made. Promises kept.”

President Trump enacted a number of immigration-centered executive orders on Monday, including declaring a national emergency at the border and committing his administration to “promptly” removing “all aliens who enter or remain in violation of Federal law.”

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“Over the last 4 years, the United States has endured a large-scale invasion at an unprecedented level,” Trump said. “Millions of illegal aliens from nations and regions all around the world successfully entered the United States where they are now residing, including potential terrorists, foreign spies, members of cartels, gangs, and violent transnational criminal organizations, and other hostile actors with malicious intent.”

Under President Joe Biden, a record number of illegal immigrants entered and were released into the United States. This came after Biden ended Trump-era immigration policies, like Title 42, which allowed the U.S. to turn away migrants at the southern border to protect public health. 

“We have limited information on the precise whereabouts of a great number of these illegal aliens who have entered the United States over the last 4 years,” Trump said. “This cannot stand.  A nation without borders is not a nation, and the Federal Government must act with urgency and strength to end the threats posed by an unsecured border.”

Trump also designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations and ordered the construction of a border wall to continue.