However stupid & counterproductive the actual deportation policy is, using military flights make it stupider and a LOT more expensive. I suppose if readiness, deficits & the economy ain’t an issue, no problem.
I’m not sure this report should’ve passed the AVweb editorial sniff test. It has very little to do with any relevant or prominent aspects of newsworthy aviation issues, not to mention it has already been plastered all over the place.
Whatever works best. Probably it’s cheaper to move the folk who entered illegally back by air rather than continue to hand out all the freebies?
I live in the US because my great-grandparents came to this country legally. They worked, paid taxes, and became US citizens within the rule structures in place. I have no problem with anyone who wants to enter the country legally and follow the lawful path to citizenship.
All of the crews on these flights need to build time to stay proficient so better to fly on real missions of value rather than other expensive training missions.
Well said Bruce S. The other billionaires on the site apparently have much better ideas that the person with his name on buildings all over the world, but I digress. Let’s just get rid of the illegal aliens and move on please.
DOUG BROOKS: Feel free to leave your house door unlocked and even open - but don’t force the rest of us to live that way. While deporting those the previous president allowed in is costly - at least the pilots and crew will be getting in their minimum flight hours to stay current/proficient - while doing something more productive than the traditional training flights.
Traditional training flights? In the fighter or bomber communities, they should be called “simulated combat sorties.” However, in the cargo-hauling community, the “hauling” consists of doing actual hauling for the DOD. Lots of it. Hauling different types of cargo to different destinations is their stock and trade. This will be no different. My only question is, where are they going and will they get landing permissions?
I too am curious about destinations and being granted permission to land. I expect origin countries don’t want the folks coming back - especially those with criminal records.
At one point someone has to make a serious challenge to this entire concept. The “national emergency” is not an emergency simply because Trump says it is, and how much of the DoD budget is going to pay for this?
Executive orders are INTENDED to be used in wartime and to deal with a national crisis. This is not as frivolous as his orders to change Denali back to Mount McKinley or flying the flag at full staff, which ignores mourning for a dead president to stroke his ego, or changing the name to Gulf of America. Really, why waste the mighty power on such nonsense.
We’re talking some serious expense to what? Protecting the U.S. from brown people?
That document and referenced article leave a lot to parse.
Have the people being deported been adjudicated to be illegal, or simply being held while their cases are pending? If a court has found them to be in the country illegally, it’s a short prison bus ride for those being held in San Diego. For El Paso, it’s a short walk across a bridge. So why they are still in jail if it is so obvious that they are “illegal”?
Either way, this hardly requires the mobilization of war machinery. This has all scat odor of political theater for the ignorant masses. Sadly, that seems to be a sizeable portion of the populace.
I have no problem with legal immigration. But when American pilots coming back into the country have to go through Customs, Immigration, and Agriculture rules and face thousands of dollars in fines, arrest, or confiscation of a multi million dollar airplane for violating those regulations, I have little sympathy for those who illegally entered my country. It’s about time these rules are enforced equally, not just for those who make the effort to follow the regulations. I like the idea of using military planes to send those illegally here back to where they came from. Those crews need to fly to maintain currency anyway, so why not fly something beneficial to the country instead of an empty airplane. That being said, I too am a little surprised that this article showed up considering how politically charged this subject is.
Deportation flights never stopped, so why pick up on this piece of “news” to report? The Biden Administration deported 1 million people per year who were here illegally?
Instead of doing the hard work of compromise and problem-solving to get a workable comprehensive immigration policy, we have another stunning example of Federal ineptness and showmanship.
As a Vietnam-era veteran using my military and tax money to fly huge overkill aircraft to transport farm, hotel and restaurant workers back to the fear and lack of opportunity they were hoping to escape simply shows American incompetence to govern, and appears cruel and unusual. But we’re getting real good at it - hey, at least the pilots are getting some practice in!
Successfully still, this circus spectacle will blind the obtuse and those reveling in denial to the real issue - the people and businesses that hired these people in the first place. But of course we don’t want to go there, that’s too close to the flame.
Sometimes you have to take very visible actions to get the message out that a policy change is real and being enforced. It is already having a big deterrent effect on those who wanted to cross illegally and could lead many illegals to self deport.