President Donald Trump's White House said that the first deportation flights of immigrants who entered the US illegally were carried out this week, APA reports citing Business Insider.
The president promised a mass deportation campaign with military assistance.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, confirmed the first of the flights on Friday morning, posting photos of people in restraints being boarded onto Air Force C-17 Globemaster IIIs.
"President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences," Leavitt said on X.
Two deportation flights on C-17s to Guatemala were flown overnight, a US defense official told Business Insider.
In a post on X Thursday night, Leavitt said the administration had arrested over 500 "illegal immigrant criminals." She said hundreds more were being deported by military aircraft. "The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway," she wrote.
