By Beyza Binnur Donmez
ANKARA (AA) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it plans to run two flights a week, which returns Mexican migrants deep into the country's interior, starting from the end of January.
The implementation began last month with flights destined from Tuscon, Arizona to the southeastern Mexican city of Guadalajara to deter illegal immigration, Fox News reported Tuesday.
It is a sharp change in the practice of releasing migrants at the border with an idea to make it harder to attempt a return.
According to the report, DHS said it eyes to return 250 migrants in two flights a week. Officials say the migrants being returned are all Mexican nationals from non-border Mexican states, who recently illegally entered the U.S., or who had gone through the court system
"This is another example of the Trump Administration working with the Government of Mexico to address the ongoing border security crisis," DHS spokeswoman Heather Swift told Fox News.
"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," she added.
The Migrant Protection Protocol, also known as the Remain-in-Mexico policy, requires migrants from all countries south of the border to be returned to Mexico and wait for migration hearings.
U.S. President Donald Trump pursued a hardline approach to immigration, both legal and illegal, since coming to the office.
Meanwhile, droves of migrants from Central American countries try each year to cross the treacherous deserts and rivers on the way to the U.S. in a bid to flee violence and poverty in their home countries.
The Trump administration also received the green light from a federal appeals court in Louisiana, which ruled the government could use $3.6 billion in military funds to construct border barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Following the court decision, the Pentagon announced Tuesday it is ready to provide additional financial support for the controversial border wall.
The border wall was one of Trump's most prominent campaign promises, a pledge to help keep undocumented immigrants out of the country, but the last three years have seen little progress in Trump’s signature project.
As part of its anti-immigration policy, Washington also signed a safe third-country agreement with Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
The agreement forces Central American migrants to apply for asylum and be processed in a third country before they can seek asylum in the U.S., even though under U.S. laws migrants are allowed to apply for asylum within the U.S. or at official ports of entry.
Although Mexico rejected the deal, it reached another one last June with the U.S. following a tariff which obligates the country to reduce its immigration flow.
