Days after the start of the mass deportations implemented by President Donald Trump's administration in the United States, the Brazilian government announced a policy on the crisis for the first time on Wednesday (29).
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after a meeting with the US Embassy in Brasilia, it was agreed to “create a Working Group to exchange information and improve the operationalization of return flights for Brazilians” who are undocumented in US territory. The aim is to guarantee “safety and the dignified and respectful treatment of passengers.”
In addition, the Ministry announced “the immediate establishment of a direct line of communication between the group members to monitor future flights in real-time.”
The Brazilian government's announcements come after the “degrading treatment” that Brazilians had received on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) repatriation flight last weekend.
The country's citizens were handcuffed at the hands and feet and made the journey on a poorly conditioned aircraft, which made a stopover in Manaus, Amazonas. The group of 88 people was then transferred to a Brazilian Air Force flight that landed in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais.
“The government considers it unacceptable that the conditions agreed with the US government are not being respected. Brazil agreed to carry out repatriation flights, starting in 2018, to shorten the time these nationals spend in US detention centers, due to irregular immigration and with no possibility of appeal,” protested the organ at the time.
