Trump's White House says deportation flights are underway, posting pictures of people being loaded into US Air Force C-17s

• Deportation flights have begun, Trump's White House said Friday.
• Photos released by White House staff show people in restraints boarding a US airlift plane.
• Trump has tapped the military to assist with the deportation of immigrants in the US illegally.

President Donald Trump's White House said that the first deportation flights of immigrants who entered the US illegally were carried out this week. The president promised a mass deportation campaign with military assistance.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt 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.

Leavitt said on the social media app the night before that 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 said.

Prior to his re-election, Trump heavily campaigned on the issue of illegal immigration, criticizing the Biden administration for failing to protect US borders, and repeatedly promised a mass deportation campaign.

During Trump's inaugural address on Monday, he hit on the issue again, saying that "all illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came."

On his first day in office, the president signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border.

Trump also signed an order directing US Northern Command to "seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities."

A senior defense official said this week that the US military is moving an additional 1,500 active-duty soldiers and Marines to the border, boosting the force presence there by roughly 60% and raising the total active-duty force size to roughly 4,000 service members. Barred from engaging in direct law enforcement activities, the troops are operating in support roles.

Military aircraft being used in this mission include UH-72 helicopters, C-130 cargo planes, and C-17 airlifters. The latter is visible in the pictures from the press secretary. The defense official also said that some military airborne surveillance assets could also be sent out.