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FILE – In this file photo dated May 11, 2021, three young migrants are holding hands as they walk to a reception area in the rain after standing while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Roma, Texas. An official says the Biden government has begun flying some Central American families deep into Mexico as authorities encounter more families and unaccompanied children on the U.S.-Mexico border.
FILE – In this file, dated May 11, 2021, migrants line up at a reception area after standing while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Roma, Texas. An official says the Biden government has begun flying some Central American families deep into Mexico as authorities encounter more families and unaccompanied children on the U.S.-Mexico border.
By ELLIOT SPAGAT and GISELA SALOMON Associated Press
SAN DIEGO (AP) – The Biden government has begun flying Central American families expelled from the United States deep into Mexico as authorities encounter more families and unaccompanied children on the U.S.-Mexico border, said two American officials on Friday.
The US government has been flying temporarily deported Mexican migrants back home for years to make it difficult to cross the border again, but this appears to be the first time that Central Americans have been flown to Mexico instead of their home countries.
Thursday’s first flight fell short of the target number of passengers due to increased COVID-19 rates among migrants, according to two officials familiar with the policy change and speaking on condition of anonymity as details should not be released. Reuters initially reported the change.
The flights should continue, with plans for Mexico to return the migrants to their home countries in Central America, officials said. An official said the planes had room for 135 people.
The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it has begun air deportation of migrants to Mexico under a pandemic-related agency preventing migrants from seeking asylum at the border. The department, which did not respond to a question about the nationalities of those on board the flight Thursday, said the frequency of repeat flights and the portability of the Delta variant of the coronavirus made the move necessary.
