Trump's military deportation flights cost more, carry fewer migrants than charters
The Trump administration's use of military aircraft for deportation flights is costing more, while at the same time moving fewer migrants than lower-priced commercial charter flights.
Flying C-17 military cargo planes with 80 people can cost around $3,919 per person to Guatemala from El Paso, according to an analysis by the El Paso Times using flight tracking software data.
A similar contracted charter deportation flight from El Paso costs taxpayers roughly $1,169 per person to Guatemala. The calculation is based on only 80 people on a removal flight, though charters generally carry 120 to 125 migrants.
Lawmakers have condemned the higher cost of President Donald Trump’s military deportations.
“It is an abuse of taxpayer resources; it is a violation of the public trust,” U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, said. “It's a betrayal of the taxpayer because there is a cheaper alternative.”
There have been 10 military deportation flights since Jan. 24, with five landing in Guatemala as of Feb. 4. An estimated 727 people were removed on those flights that departed El Paso, Harlingen, Texas and Tucson, Arizona.
The deportation flights have returned migrants who illegally crossed the U.S. border to Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, and India.
These five countries agreed to accept the military deportation flights after Trump threatened that they would “pay a high economic price” if they refused them.
"For the first time in history, we are locating and loading illegal aliens into military aircraft and flying them back to the places from which they came," Trump said from his Doral golf club on Jan. 27.
The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for more information about military deportation flights.
ICE deportations increased late in Biden term
Deportation charters arranged by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — commonly known as ICE Air — have been common for decades.
The flights are chartered on commercial airlines that crisscross the United States, moving immigrants to six hubs along the U.S. border region in El Paso and other parts of Texas, Arizona and Louisiana. The flights then fly migrants home to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia and other countries.
These chartered flights have continued daily as the Trump administration carries out the highly visible deportations on military aircraft. There have been around 30 commercial deportation charters since Jan. 24, according to the detailed work compiled by Tom Cartwright with the immigration advocacy group Witness at the Border.
The Biden administration carried out 5,518 deportation flights over four years. There were 1,564 deportation flights in the final year of the Biden administration, according to Cartwright.
ICE removed 271,484 non-citizens in fiscal year 2024, a 90% increase over the previous year.
“Every administration has engaged in deportation efforts,” Escobar said, “that's never stopped.”
The chartered flights are facilitated by CSI Aviation, which holds a federal contract to repatriate migrants to their home countries. The Killeen, Texas-based charter company was awarded a contract valued at about $359 million from the Department of Homeland Security in April 2024.
The Miami, Florida-based Global Crossings Airlines, or GlobalX, has taken up a large portion of the deportation flights as a subcontractor for CSI Aviation. The company utilizes Airbus planes, including the A320 and A321, according to the company's website.
GlobalX became the primary charter subcontractor in 2024 after the company iAero (previously Swiftair) went out of business after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2024.
GlobalX performed 74% of deportation flights in 2024, according to data collected by Cartwright. Other charter and cargo companies like Eastern Air Express and World Atlantic Airlines occasionally carry out ICE chartered deportations.
GlobalX and CSI Aviation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Military aircraft complicate ICE deportation tracking
The University of Washington’s Human Rights Center has researched the ICE Air removal flights since 2018, providing data on the contracts and companies.
However, it has become increasingly difficult in recent years to obtain information on the deportation charters.
“We should have access to detailed data about the number of passengers and exactly where they're going,” said Phil Neff, a research coordinator with the University of Washington’s Human Rights Center. “That information was previously released in our FOIA request, but they're making it more difficult to acquire now.”
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@gannett.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.