NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Department of Homeland Security inked a deal to purchase a fleet of Boeing planes to carry out the Trump administration’s ongoing deportation efforts, Fox News Digital learned.
“We are delighted to see the media is highlighting the Trump administration’s cost-effective and innovative ways of delivering on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital Wednesday.
“This new initiative will save $279 million in taxpayer dollars by allowing ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns,” she added.
The Washington Post first reported Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security signed a deal to purchase six Boeing 737 planes for deportations. The funding stems from the “big, beautiful bill” approved by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in July that advances his agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt.
DETAINED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WILL FACE $5K ‘APPREHENSION FEE’: BORDER PATROL CHIEF
Congress approved $170 billion for various border and immigration efforts, the outlet reported.
The deal was signed with Daedalus Aviation, a commercial and charter aviation service company established in Virginia in 2024, according to the Post. Fox News Digital reached out to Daedalus Aviation Wednesday afternoon for additional comment but did not immediately receive a reply.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to quickly and efficiently getting criminal illegal aliens OUT of our country,” McLaughlin added in a statement to Fox News Digital.
DHS LAUNCHES NEW IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN OPERATION IN NEW ORLEANS
Trump’s 2024 election campaign focused on removing illegal immigrants who flooded the nation under the Biden administration. The unauthorized immigrant population in the U.S. soared to an all-time high of 14 million in 2023 under the Biden administration, a report published by the Pew Research Center in August found.
The Trump administration has been working to detain and remove the millions of illegal immigrants since Trump’s first day in office — when he signed an executive order rescinding Biden-era enforcement limits. The Trump administration has carried out more than 1,700 deportation flights, which have been met with legal battles, since Jan. 20, according to a watchdog report.
CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SLAM NEWSOM, BASS FOR LETTING LA BURN WITH RIOTS AMID TRUMP IMMIGRATION BLITZ
Democrats have slammed the administration’s deportation efforts, including during riots in Los Angeles in early June as local leaders, such as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, denounced immigration raids in public statements while offering words of support for illegal immigrants in the state.
“They’re sitting there on horses with American flags, running through soccer fields, scaring kids that are playing soccer in the middle of the day at a summer camp. For what? Just toughness,” Newsom said of the raids and federal officers during an interview in July. “It’s a weakness masquerading as strength.
McLaughlin celebrated in September that more than 2 million illegal immigrants were removed or self-deported from the U.S. since Trump’s return to the Oval Office.
“The numbers don’t lie: 2 million illegal aliens have been removed or self-deported in just 250 days— proving that President Trump’s policies and Secretary Noem’s leadership are working and making American communities safe,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
“Ramped-up immigration enforcement targeting the worst of the worst is removing more and more criminal illegal aliens off our streets every day and is sending a clear message to anyone else in this country illegally: Self-deport or we will arrest and deport you,” she added.
Read the full article here
