US citizens return home safely 

It is a reality that COVID-19 has invaded every corner of our planet and this leads countries to protect their territories and their citizens.

Thousands of Americans were traveling out of the country when the Coronavirus spread uncontrollably around the world. Most of them did not have enough time to return to the US because the countries closed their borders unexpectedly.

Therefore, Trump’s government is trying to create methods to help citizens who are currently outside the country waiting for someone to help them and bring them back home.

After a long discussion, the government decided to use several planes from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to bring home as many Americans as possible.

How does the process work?

ICE has aircraft designated to transport deported immigrants from the US to Central America.

Therefore, what they are doing is using these planes to deport immigrants and at the same time picking up citizens to bring them back to the country.

On April 3, 2020, an ICE plane brought 124 American citizens to the country from El Salvador. That plane transported deported immigrants that same day.

The risks of this maneuver

By doing this, ICE might create negative repercussions, for example:

• If someone inside the flight is infected with COVID-19, it would be a fatal risk for the rest of the people who use the plane.
• If one of the deportees is infected with Coronavirus, it is an imminent risk for El Salvador (in this case).
• The virus outbreak in the US is already massive, therefore, if one of the transported Americans is infected, it represents another possible contagion for hundreds of people inside the country.
• This could create misunderstandings between governments because Central America does not agree with deportations in the midst of a pandemic.

ICE contains the risks

ICE employees are aware of the potential risk of bringing Americans home and transporting deported immigrants amid the Coronavirus outbreak.

However, despite the possible danger, they have taken security measures to protect all passengers and employees.

Before anyone gets on the plane, ICE takes the temperature of each one of them and if someone has a temperature higher than the allowed limit, he/she will be taken immediately to a medical center for constant observation. Also, if someone is having symptoms, even if they are mild, they won’t be allowed to use the plane.

In this way, ICE ensures that nobody, whether an immigrant, a US citizen, or a federal employee, is put at risk.

ICE plans to bring more Americans

Deportation policies are not being properly followed due to the unexpected outbreak of the Coronavirus.

Therefore, deportations have accelerated and will continue to increase for the next few weeks at least, while the peak of contagion decreases in the US.

In the effort to protect our citizens, ICE plans to do exactly the same in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. They even plan to go to Colombia and Nicaragua.

This means that deportations will continue on a regular basis and those flights will be used to bring home stranded US citizens.

The decision to use ICE aircraft for this task has two repercussions:

1. It is very positive for citizens who return to their homes, they feel safer in their country and with their families.
   It is a kind gesture for Americans stranded in other countries.
2. Mass deportations can be a risk for underdeveloped countries who do not have enough supplies to face the COVID-19 crisis.

If you want to know more, you can go to our website (blog section) and read our daily news about immigration in the US.

Also, if you have any questions about an immigration issue or relating to a case you may have currently in progress, then please don’t hesitate to contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1799.