US struggles to deport illegal migrants at border due to flight shortage

President Biden unveils executive order at the White House restricting asylum for migrants crossing the border illegally. Photo: Annabelle Gordon/Splash News

The US is struggling to deport illegal immigrants due to a lack of flights to take them back.

President Joe Biden last week announced a series of measures to combat a surge in migration across the southern border, as immigration becomes one of the biggest threats to Biden's re-election chances.

He issued a sweeping order last week that will close the US-Mexico border to migrants if illegal crossings reach an average of 2,500 over seven consecutive days.

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Polls have shown migration as one of the biggest issues for voters ahead of the November election.

The White House said it has repatriated 750,000 people over the past year — the highest number since 2010 — but logistical problems have hampered it.

Asylum seekers arriving at the El Chaparral crossing for appointments at the US-Mexico border Photo: Carlos Moreno/Shutterstock

In a detailed memo, the Department of Homeland Security said that «the demographics and nationalities encountered at the border have a significant impact» on its ability to deport people.

It said border agents were ordered to focus on migrants who could easily be to remove, followed by those that had more problems due to the need to obtain travel documents.

Then there was the last category that was «very difficult to remove» — ​​those from countries that refused to accept flights from USA.< /p>

U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement agents conducted 679 deportation flights from January to May, according to official data. Of these, almost 60 percent were destined for Guatemala and Honduras.

There were 46 flights to Colombia, 42 to Ecuador and 12 to Peru, carrying only a small portion of illegal immigrants from these countries.

>< p>But there were only 10 of them to Africa and only one to China, despite the arrest of almost 13,000 Chinese migrants.

Others were simply released, including men from China, India, Colombia, Ecuador, Mauritania, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Migrants smuggled out. on the border of Tijuana and San Diego as they scale the wall to seek asylum in the United States. Photo: Carlos Moreno/Anadolu

Immigration problems in the United States are being exacerbated by a growing number of migrants from around the world trying to enter the country by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Analysts say the difficulties could be embarrassing the position of Mr Biden, who has come under attack from left-wing Democrats for his tougher approach.

“It depends on whether this is a glitch that can be fixed or whether it is a long-term problem,” the Telegraph said Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.

Biden is betting big on this border action that has many in his own party grumbling or worse.

“If because of this it does not start, then he is taking a risk because there is not much return.”