WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — U.S. military aircraft began flying out migrants on orders from President Donald Trump on Friday, as the Pentagon prepared to send more troops to the southern border.
On his first day in office, Trump declared a national emergency at the border, tasking the U.S. military with aiding border security, issuing a broad ban on asylum and taking steps to restrict citizenship for children born on American soil.
A Justice Department lawyer had barely started making his arguments in a Seattle courtroom Thursday when U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour began blistering him with questions, calling the executive order “blatantly unconstitutional.” Coughenour went on to temporarily block the order pending further arguments.
Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order instructed the Pentagon to send as many troops as necessary to obtain “complete operational control of the southern border of the United States.”
“Deportation flights have begun,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X, formerly Twitter.
On Friday, two U.S. military aircraft, each carrying about 80 migrants, flew from the U.S. to Guatemala, a U.S. official told reporters.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration said the U.S. military would be sending 1,500 additional active duty troops to the border with Mexico.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.