Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday said he will not authorize the entry of U.S. military flights carrying deported Colombian migrants, which is part of a new immigration policy put into effect by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Noting that the United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals, Petro said in a post on X that Washington must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants.
“I cannot make migrants stay in a country that does not want them. But if that country returns them, it must be with dignity and respect for them and for our country. We will receive our compatriots in civilian planes, without treating them like criminals. Colombia must be respected,” he said.
On his inauguration day on Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order that declared a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border, called for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, deployed military forces to the border and denied U.S. citizenship to those born to illegal immigrants.
