WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some 131 Central Asian migrants who were in the U.S. illegally are being deported to Uzbekistan as part of a deal between the two countries, Fox News reported on Wednesday, citing comments from the Department of Homeland Security.
The people deported are from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, Fox reported. They were on flown out of the U.S. on a chartered flight on Wednesday, it added.
President Donald Trump has pledged to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally as part of a far-reaching immigration crackdown. His administration has established new routes to deport migrants to third countries in the Western Hemisphere and recently removed an Iraqi man to Rwanda.
Democrats and advocates have said Trump’s aggressive deportation push has bypassed due process and split families, including a recent case of a deported Cuban mother who said she was told she could not bring her breastfeeding 1-year-old daughter with her.
The Republican president’s initial deportations remain lower than last year under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, when high levels of illegal immigration led to more quick removals.
The White House, DHS and Uzbekistan’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Chizu Nomiyama)
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