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Brazil demands ‘explanation’ from Donald Trump as deported immigrants arrive in handcuffs
A Brazilian government source told AFP that the deportees who arrived in Manaus traveled "with their documents", which shows that they agreed to return home.
Brazil's government said on Saturday that it would demand 'explanation’ from the United States after dozens of immigrants deported from the United States arrived by plane in handcuffs, calling it a "flagrant disregard" for their rights.
The controversy comes as Latin America grapples with US President Donald Trump's return to power bringing a hardline anti-immigration agenda, promising crackdowns on irregular migration and mass deportations. Several planes have taken the illegal immigrants to different countries like Guatemala and Brazil
When one such plane landed in Brazil’s northern city of Manaus, the authorities ordered US officials to "immediately remove the handcuffs," according to the country's justice ministry.
The statement added that justice minister Ricardo Lewandowski told President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of "the flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens".
"Upon learning of the situation, President Lula ordered that a Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aircraft be mobilized to transport the Brazilians to their final destination, in order to ensure that they could complete their journey with dignity and safety," the justice ministry said.
The foreign ministry said that it will request "explanations from the US government about the degrading treatment of passengers" on the Friday night flight. According to the government, 88 Brazilians were aboard the aircraft.
Several deported immigrants told the media that they weren't given water during the flight and were brought with their hands and feet tied, AFP reported. The report also suggested that some of the passengers on the plane even fainted due to the heat.
While Donald Trump has issued a directive about crackdown on illegal immigrants in the United States, the flight wasn't linked to that but a 2017 bilateral agreement between both the countries.
A Brazilian government source told AFP that the deportees who arrived in Manaus traveled "with their documents", which shows that they agreed to return home.
Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration
Donald Trump began his second term in the White House with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling entry to the United States. He signed an executive order declaring a "national emergency" at the southern US border and announced the deployment of more troops to the area while vowing to deport "criminal aliens" on his first day in office last Monday.
Several deportation flights since Monday have garnered public and media attention, though such actions were also common under previous US presidents.
In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.
There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security statistics.
