Mexico Refuses to Allow U.S. Deportation Flight to Land
Disagreement Over Unilateral Immigration Actions Strains Relations Between the Two Countries
Mexico blocked a U.S. military plane from landing on Thursday, temporarily disrupting the Trump administration's deportation efforts, according to two U.S. defense officials and another source familiar with the situation. The decision prevented a flight carrying deportees from the U.S. from arriving in Mexico, although two other flights to Guatemala proceeded as scheduled.
The refusal raised questions about the reasons behind the move, though tensions between the U.S. and Mexico have been growing since President Donald Trump’s election. Trump has previously threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican goods in response to migration across their shared border, though those tariffs have not yet been enacted.
A White House official downplayed the incident, stating that the situation was “an administrative issue” and was quickly resolved. However, later on, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted, “Yesterday, Mexico accepted a record 4 deportation flights in 1 day!” Still, there was no clarification on whether these flights were military, commercial, or private.
The Mexican government has been vocal in its opposition to Trump’s unilateral immigration policies, including the reinstatement of the "Remain in Mexico" policy, which requires migrants to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims are processed. For such deportation flights, cooperation from the destination country is necessary, and it is unclear why Mexico refused to accept the U.S. plane this time.
In a statement, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized its strong relationship with the U.S. but reiterated its commitment to respecting its sovereignty. “Mexico has a very good relationship with the United States government and we cooperate with respect for our sovereignty on a wide range of issues, including migration,” the statement read. “When it comes to repatriations, we will always welcome the arrival of Mexicans to our territory with open arms.”
Meanwhile, Guatemala received three deportation flights from the U.S. on Friday, returning around 265 Guatemalan nationals. Two of the flights were military, while the third was non-military, according to a spokesperson for the Guatemalan Migration Institute.
The military deportation flights are part of the broader immigration enforcement efforts under the Trump administration, which has sought to crack down on illegal immigration through various executive orders. In addition to the flights, Trump has ordered the deployment of 1,500 additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to bolster security.