The United States had recently deported 104 Indian nationals who had turned up in America illegally on a US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III aircraft. The AFP reports that this military flight carried out by the FBI will cost more than $1 million, which is much more expensive than traditional civilian flights seen in deportations.
Military aircraft are reportedly more than three times costlier to operate than typical ICE charter flights. Documents from the US Air Mobility Command show that the C-17 military aircraft which ferried them to India for their deportation cost on an average $28,562 (₹24.98 lakh) per flight hour whereas a charter flight costs $8,577 (₹7.50 lakh) per flight hour.
It comes as part of a broader shift in US deportation policy under the Donald Trump administration focused on huge deportations of undocumented immigrants. Although Trump’s efforts at curtailing immigration have primarily been directed at Latinos, this operation represents a dramatic increase in expelling migrants to other more distant lands like India.
The first US military aircraft was used to deport someone to India Tuesday, as an Air Force C-17A Globemaster III landed in Amritsar, India, Wednesday. The Globemaster III is an operational military transport aircraft of heavy lift type since 1995; it is primarily used for troop and cargo transportation in military operations worldwide.
The use of military aircraft for deportation shows that, just as operational costs of draconian immigration enforcement continue to climb, so too does the US government’s commitment to it. This move could establish a precedent for future deportation strategies, including those involving high-risk and/or long-distance repatriation operations, say experts.
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