Biggest Deportation Operation in US History

The US government, under former President Donald Trump, initiated the biggest deportation operation ever conducted. In this operation, illegal immigrants are taken back to their countries of origin. The cost of deportation is said to be very steep, especially in the use of military aircraft instead of commercial flights.

Costlier than First-Class Tickets?

Hundreds of illegal immigrants have been deported to Guatemala, Peru, and Honduras through the deportation operation. Reports have indicated that it costs about $4,675 for each person deported to Guatemala. This is approximately five times more expensive than a standard commercial airline ticket priced at some $853. The use of chartered flights managed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) increases the prices even further. Military aircraft like the C-17 also attract even higher prices.

Use of Military Aircraft

The United States Department of Defense has also operationalized two C-17 and two C-130E military aircraft that would be deployed during deportation. For a C-17, its operating cost runs at approximately $21,000 an hour while for the C-130E, the estimates are in between $68,000 and $71,000 an hour. For 12 hours, this would mean flying at a cost of $252,000 in the C-17 while it would run within the estimate range of between $816,000 and $852,000 in the C-130E.

Breakdown Cost of ICE

ICE Director T. Johnson even said it averaged around $17,000 dollars per hour that each deportation flight cost. On the average number of 135 deportees being carried per each flight, this department has thus calculated to yield an estimated number of around $630 per deportee, considering an hourly estimate. But to date, though, DoD did not furnish an updated estimated overall expenditures undertaken since they established this large scale deportation campaign. While the authorities do not lose sleep over costs, they still seem determined to expel all deportees quickly in priority order.

Indian Deportees on Military Airlifts

In yet another recent operation, Indian illegals were transported back home with the help of a C-17 military aircraft. The projected travel time took about 24 hours, extending the cost and time for executing the entire procedure.