US deports 131 undocumented Central Asian migrants to Uzbekistan

The U.S. said it deported more than 130 Central Asian immigrants without documentation to Uzbekistan, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced.

In a Wednesday press release, the DHS said Uzbekistan’s government has worked alongside the U.S. in the deportation of more than 100 Uzbek, Kazakh and Kyrgyz immigrants. The department also said that the Uzbek immigrants’ deportations were “fully funded” by their government.

“We commend Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for his leadership in sending a flight to return 131 illegal aliens back to their home country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in the release. “We look forward to continuing to work together with Uzbekistan on efforts to enhance our mutual security and uphold the rule of law.”

In the first few months of his second term, President Trump has sought to crack down on immigration. Since the start of the new administration, the U.S. has also deported hundreds of migrants to a large prison in El Salvador.

Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to advance legislation to support a series of Trump’s immigration goals, including increasing fees for those looking for U.S.-based refuge and raising resources to detain and deport a record amount of migrants.

In a recent CNN poll, 52 percent of respondents said Trump had “gone too far” when it has come to deportations, up 7 points from February.