Trump administration needs more planes to carry out evacuations: Report

They need more planes.

While the Trump administration this week began a pledge to begin deporting illegal immigrants, White House senior deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Friday that more planes are needed to speed up the process.

Miller told reporters that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been hampered by a lack of planes to deport illegal immigrants, and that the administration is trying to get enough planes from a half-dozen sources, according to Bloomberg.

The ICE raid took place on Tuesday, and White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt released a photo of people aboard the C-17 on Friday morning and announced that “deportation flights have begun.” One of the photos was taken at Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, USA, and was one of two flights bound for Guatemala at 5pm on Thursday.

Mexico denies access to US immigration flight based on false information, State Dept. Official says

Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News that the plane in the picture had 80 people on board. A third flight to Mexico never took off after Mexico refused to land, a State Department official told Fox News.

But on Friday, Miller indicated that the administration is looking to ramp up its operations and is seeking aircraft from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to do so.

“Obviously you have a DHS climate, you have a DOD climate, you have a State Department climate, you have a commercial climate, you have a Charter climate, so you have every asset that can be used to conduct a lawful deportation,” Miller said. By Bloomberg.

“Border Czar” Tom Homan told ABC News on Friday that the administration uses military aircraft every day to help carry out the operation.

About 2,000 illegal immigrants were transported by land and air to Mexico on Thursday. Mexico has also detained nearly 5,000 migrants within its borders, Fox News reported.

When asked about the need for more aircraft, Levitt said the Trump administration is using military and non-military aircraft to accomplish this mission.

Up to 250,000 children born to illegal immigrants by 2023: Preliminary report

“In one week, the Trump administration has facilitated a record number of illegal immigration deportation flights, and the administration is using both military and non-military aircraft to accomplish this mission,” Levitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Joe Biden has allowed tens of millions of illegal criminals into the country, and to detain and deport as many as possible, Congress must pass reconciliation legislation that includes funding for border enforcement, detention centers and immigration efforts.”

The administration has taken several measures to secure the border; Among them are deploying the military, restarting wall construction and ending Biden-era amnesty programs.

The Department of Homeland Security has issued several memos since President Donald Trump took office, ordering amnesty revisions and recently expanding the ability of officials to quickly deport illegal immigrants from the United States. Those notes were signed by Acting Secretary Benjamin Huffman.

Click here to access the FOX NEWS app

Meanwhile, Miller said the administration is using a variety of tools to keep people accused of human rights abuses from entering the country without permission.

“There are digital footprints, there are financial footprints, there is standard law enforcement information,” he said. “There are a wide range of tools available to identify and eliminate these individuals.”

According to Bloomberg, former President Joe Biden refused to use military aircraft. His administration often used commercial planes to deport refugees.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Luis Casiano contributed to this report.