{"id":5291,"date":"2019-04-23T00:01:40","date_gmt":"2019-04-23T07:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/humanrights\/?p=5291"},"modified":"2025-08-04T10:26:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T17:26:45","slug":"ice-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/humanrights\/2019\/04\/23\/ice-air\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden in Plain Sight: ICE Air and the Machinery of Mass Deportation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Read other UWCHR reports about ICE Air<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Please see the UWCHR\u2019s companion report,\u00a0<\/em>King County Collaboration with ICE Air Deportation Flights at Boeing Field<\/a>,\u00a0for a detailed explanation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Air Operations in King County. For further background on the Alien Repatriation Tracking System (ARTS) database discussed here and our research methods to interpret it, please see the\u00a0<\/em>Data Appendix<\/a> to this report. We anticipate publishing future research on this topic.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Concern about the human rights implications of the detention and deportation of immigrants has spread across the United States. Dedicated activists and researchers have exposed problems throughout the many processes of immigration enforcement, from\u00a0racial profiling in immigration policing<\/a>;\u00a0retaliatory enforcement against human rights defenders<\/a>;\u00a0abuse<\/a>,\u00a0medical neglect<\/a>, and\u00a0death in detention<\/a>; the\u00a0separation of minors from their families<\/a>; the\u00a0mental health impacts of deportation<\/a>; and many other concerns. But until now, relatively little attention has been paid to the final link in the immigration enforcement chain: the process of deportation itself.<\/p>\n

And yet, it is here that this long series of indignities and illegalities is rendered most concrete. As its official name\u2014removal\u2014suggests, this process involves the physical expulsion of a person from the United States. Moreover, at times this process\u00a0may even lead to that person\u2019s death<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Deportation relies on a complex network of public and private institutions, but in most cases its final phase is carried out, at least in part, aboard a plane.[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Over the past decade, the institutional infrastructure behind these flights has shifted from a government operation run by the US Marshals Service on government planes, to a sprawling, semi-secret network of flights on privately-owned aircraft chartered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Air Operations (known colloquially as \u201cICE Air\u201d). This report aims to peel back the secrecy that has surrounded the operations of ICE Air, in order to lay bare the structures that empower and conceal these abuses.<\/p>\n

At the request of immigrant community organizations in Washington state, in 2018 the University of Washington Center for Human Rights filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for data about deportation flights operating at the King County International Airport (Boeing Field), and obtained an extract from ICE\u2019s Alien Repatriation Tracking System (ARTS) specific to that airport. Recognizing the importance of understanding these patterns at a national level, we then filed a request for the entire ARTS database.[2]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0In December 2018, we obtained the national dataset analyzed in this report. We believe this is the first time any portion of the ARTS database has been made public, and that its release can shed significant light on both the structure of the ICE Air network and the collaboration of public authorities in its operations.<\/p>\n

To examine the dataset and its human rights implications, the UW Center for Human Rights commissioned a team of student researchers[3]<\/sup><\/a> who, jointly with Center faculty and staff, conducted research on ICE Air operations in early 2019. This research involved quantitative data analysis; the analysis of documents obtained through online research and public records requests under the Freedom of Information Act, Washington State\u2019s Public Records Act, and access to information laws in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador; and interviews with immigrant rights advocates, former deportees and family members, local elected officials, an employee of an air charter company that contracts with ICE, and an ICE employee from the Office of Acquisition Management who oversees the contracting process. This research remains ongoing, and we anticipate releasing future findings as they become available.<\/p>\n

As part of our effort to share this information as broadly as possible, we are also publishing the dataset itself alongside this report.[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The ARTS dataset<\/h2>\n

The ARTS dataset contains 1.73 million records of passengers on nearly 15,000 ICE Air Operations missions during the period from October 1, 2010 to December 5, 2018. Most of these (71.22)% are removal flights, where passengers are flown to other countries (or, in the case of the majority of Mexican nationals, flown to a US border city from which they are transported by land into Mexico.) 28.78% of them, however, are internal transfers, whereby detainees are moved around the US, potentially multiple times prior to their ultimate deportation. Due to limitations of the dataset, it is difficult to discern which internal transfer flights are simply the first leg in a scheduled deportation, as opposed to the relocation of a detained person to a new detention center. For this reason, we refer to all flights in the ARTS dataset as \u201cdeportation flights.\u201d (For details on the uses and limitations of the data set, see the Data Appendix<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Figure 1[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/strong>
\n\"Figure<\/a><\/p>\n

The ARTS dataset also reveals the extent of local collaboration across the country and world required to operate this network. In the US, participating airports include ICE Air\u2019s five main hubs (Mesa, AZ; Brownsville, TX; Miami, FL; San Antonio, TX; and Alexandria, LA); as well as 83 other airports scattered across the country, some in \u201csanctuary\u201d jurisdictions[6]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0like Seattle, WA; Oakland, CA; or Minneapolis, MN. From these sites, deportees are transported to a growing network of international destinations, which almost doubled in number from 2010 to 2018.[7]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0In total, over the period covered by the ARTS dataset, ICE Air operations involve 88 airports in the US and its territories, and 134 airports in 119 other countries worldwide. See Figure 2 below for an illustration of the ICE Air network\u2019s reach in North and Central America.<\/p>\n

Figure 2[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/div>\n

\u201cOff the books\u201d flights?<\/h2>\n

At the same time, this dataset offers only a partial picture of deportation in the United States today. The removals in the ARTS dataset make up between 44%-53% of total removals reported annually by ICE\u2019s division of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO)\u2014the branch of the agency responsible for deportations\u2014leading to questions about what accounts for the remaining deportations (see Figure 3 below).[9]<\/sup><\/a> The agency offers no explanation for this discrepancy; indeed, although a\u00a02015 report on ICE Air by the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Office of the Inspector General<\/a>\u00a0suggests the ARTS database contains fields not released to us,[10]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0the copy we received was not accompanied by any accounting for information withheld under FOIA exemptions.<\/p>\n

Figure 3[11]<\/sup><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/div>\n

Our research team considered multiple possible reasons for the apparent absence of so many deportations from the dataset. On the one hand, some removals of Mexicans apprehended near the border do not involve air travel, and therefore would not appear in the ARTS dataset; but the gap is also evident in ICE ERO\u2019s reported deportations of Somalis, Cambodians, and others who cannot conceivably have been deported by land. For example, in FY 2017 and FY 2018, ICE ERO reported the removals of 41 and 62 Eritreans, respectively, but 0 removals of Eritreans appear in the ARTS database; how, then, were those people transported?<\/p>\n

Table 1: Comparison of ICE Air (ARTS) and ICE ERO reported removal figures for selected nationalities[12]<\/sup><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nFY 2017<\/b><\/td>\nFY 2018<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Source<\/b><\/td>\nARTS<\/b><\/td>\nERO<\/b><\/td>\nARTS<\/b><\/td>\nERO<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mexico<\/i><\/td>\n32,967<\/td>\n128,765<\/td>\n34,738<\/td>\n141,045<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Somalia<\/i><\/td>\n342<\/td>\n521<\/td>\n151<\/td>\n229<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cambodia<\/i><\/td>\n28<\/td>\n29<\/td>\n90<\/td>\n110<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cuba<\/i><\/td>\n53<\/td>\n160<\/td>\n255<\/td>\n463<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Eritrea<\/i><\/td>\n0<\/td>\n41<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n62<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Some passengers continue to be deported on commercial airlines; a second hypothesis we considered was that commercial flights not included in the ARTS database could account for the discrepancy with ERO\u2019s totals. Yet it appears that only small numbers of deportations take place on commercial flights: a\u00a02019 report by the US Office of the Inspector General<\/a>\u00a0notes that in fiscal year 2017, \u201cICE Air coordinated the removal of 8,288 aliens via commercial flights and the removal or transfer of 181,317 aliens via charter flights,\u201d giving a sense of the relative proportion of commercial vs. charter flights. While ICE has never offered a clear accounting of its use of commercial flights for deportation, other reports seem to confirm that\u00a0charters outpace commercial flights by a ratio of roughly 20 to 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A third explanation could be that the ARTS database only captures certain classes of deportation flights. Although ICE does not publicly explain its recordkeeping, our review of available agency contracts confirms that it divides charter flights into several categories. The most common are daily scheduled large aircraft (DSLA) flights, which embark to Western hemisphere destinations, mostly in Latin America. Long range international charters (LRIC) depart less frequently to farther-away locations like Somalia and Azerbaijan. And a third class is designated \u201cspecial high-risk charters\u201d (SHRC) because of characteristics of the deportees\u2014for example, those who have resisted deportation on previous attempts\u2014or complex circumstances surrounding permissions to land in transit or destination countries. While the ARTS database clearly contains DSLA flights and some other flights long-range destinations which could be considered LRIC or SHRC, it does not note which type of charter each record corresponds to, making it impossible to test this hypothesis.<\/p>\n

Further complicating analysis is the fact that deportation flights can operate under a range of contractors and FAA-assigned call signs. Many, likely most, flights operated for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement are assigned the prefix RPN, an abbreviation for \u201crepatriate.\u201d[13]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The call sign, together with a flight number, is used to identify the aircraft in radio voice communications with air traffic personnel, and may also appear on airport invoices for fuel and landing fees. Using free flight tracker websites,[14]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0it is easy to track the arrival, departure, and scheduling of all RPN flights, and to determine the unique tail number of the aircraft operating the flight\u2014and using that number, to look up the plane\u2019s registered owner. However, by cross-checking the ARTS dataset against locally-held flight records provided by various US airports, it appears that deportation flights operated by Omni Air International do not begin with the RPN prefix, and are therefore more readily confused with other private charter flights operated by the same company.<\/p>\n

ICE is also known to engage in sloppy recordkeeping, as\u00a0DHS\u2019s 2015 OIG audit of ICE Air<\/a>\u00a0concluded. Worse yet, it routinely conceals its records from the public, in violation of FOIA, and has\u00a0failed to provide information to Congress<\/a>\u00a0even when legally mandated to do so. Under FOIA, for example, UWCHR researchers requested the Quarterly Operational Summary Safety Reports that contractors are required to provide to ICE; these contain additional data about all flights, aircraft, and passengers in ICE Air deportations.[15]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0ICE responded that no such records exist, and\/or that if they did, law enforcement and national security exclusions might preclude their release.<\/p>\n

In the absence of transparency surrounding these processes, troubling questions arise, not only about the treatment and ultimate fate of thousands of people, but about the accuracy of all information provided by the US government about immigration enforcement. ICE ERO\u2019s website announcing FY 2018 removals, for example, boasts a graphic of a plane in flight, with the unsubstantiated claim \u201c57% convicted criminals\u201d alongside it; the ARTS dataset, by contrast, shows that 52% of those removed in FY 2018 had no criminal record. ICE\u2019s statistics may or may not be accurate, but there is no way to know given that as many as half of deportations are not accounted for. By concealing such basic facts about immigration enforcement efforts, ICE precludes the possibility of accountability.<\/p>\n

The business of deportation<\/h2>\n

Since 2018, ICE has contracted with a single principal air broker, Classic Air Charter (CAC), which is responsible for arranging the bulk of ICE Air flights. Prior to this, ICE Air was administered through five separate contracts\u2014one for each hub airport\u2014with a competitor company, CSI Aviation. Although ICE\u2019s current contract with CAC has not been made public, the\u00a0Government Accountability Office\u2019s resolution of a February 2018 protest<\/a>\u00a0filed by a competitor company described its value at 646 million, and stated that it encompassed daily scheduled large aircraft flights (DSLA) and special high risk charters (SHRC). In 2015, the\u00a0Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Office of the Inspector General reported<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cICE Air pays, on average, $8,419 per flight hour for charter flights regardless of the number of passengers on the plane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under this contract, CAC subcontracts with other private companies to run the flights. The two most frequently-used aviation subcontractors are\u00a0Swift Air<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0World Atlantic Airlines<\/a>.[16]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Swift, with a fleet dominated by Boeing 737s, is a key player in the private charter market; aside from deportation flights, the company offers VIP charters for executives,\u00a0rock stars<\/a>, and\u00a0collegiate sports teams<\/a>. In December 2018, Swift was\u00a0purchased by iAero Group<\/a>. World Atlantic Airlines, also known as Caribbean Sun Airlines, primarily flies McDonnell Douglas MD-80s. Other airlines are also used, sometimes as subcontractors to these companies, sometimes as their competitors for subcontracts from CAC, and sometimes under direct contract with ICE. For example, ICE\u2019s flights to Havana, Cuba are operated by under a direct\u00a0contract between ICE and Zephyr Aviation<\/a>, and our cross-checking of the ARTS database against local airports\u2019 records has uncovered additional flights run by Omni Air International, a Department of Defense contractor whose contract with DHS has not been publicly disclosed.<\/p>\n

Figure 4: Selected ICE Air contracting relationships<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/div>\n

These airlines, in turn, must also contract out for a range of services to operate deportation flights. First, per ICE policy, all deportation flights require security and medical personnel not typical on other private charters.[17]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Second, all airlines must contract with Fixed Base Operators (FBOs) to arrange for the logistics of arrivals and departures at participating US airports.[18]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0FBOs typically rent hangar space from municipal airports, for whom such rental income may constitute a considerable source of revenue. In addition, the airports charge FBOs for fuel and other costs, and are tasked with the oversight of their operations, including the performance of financial audits, safety inspections, and issuance of fuelling permits.<\/p>\n

Per ICE\u2019s\u00a0draft Statement of Work<\/a>, published prior to the signing of the current broker contract, flights are staffed by a pilot, flight attendants, security guards, and a flight nurse, as well as an ICE agent or agents; the number of guards required varies by the type of flight. Contractors are required to provide metal handcuffs, waist chains and leg irons for the shackling of passengers, who are restrained upon boarding and kept chained throughout the flight. The flight attendants or crew are not allowed to interact directly with the deportees; guards and the ICE agents who accompany every flight are responsible for the supervision of those on board. On this point, the\u00a0draft Statement of Work<\/a>\u00a0reads, \u201cGuard crew duties may normally include, but are not limited to, the following tasks: searching the aircraft for contraband, searching alien nationals for contraband, loading and unloading alien nationals (including those handicapped and\/or requiring special assistance) and property onto and off the aircraft, feeding alien nationals in flight and assisting in cabin cleanup afterwards, identifying proper documentation, escorting to rest rooms, assisting with perimeter security when requested, restraining alien nationals or removing restraints, and ensuring general security and safety of alien nationals when onboard the aircraft. Guard crew personnel shall be under the operational control of the contractor either as an employee or acting as a de facto employee by a subcontract relationship. ICE Officer(s) will be responsible for the custody of any alien national passengers.\u201d’ Passengers are allowed up to travel with 40 pounds of luggage, typically their possessions returned to them by the detention center in a plastic bag.<\/p>\n

Human rights concerns<\/h2>\n

Deportation tears families and communities apart, disrupting the international right to family unity.[19]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Encouraging the mass deportation of migrants often contributes to the violation of other rights, including the right to be free from discrimination, or to equal protection of the laws. Until now, the role of deportation flights in contributing to human rights abuses has been mostly ignored. However, as explored below, under certain circumstances ICE Air\u2019s deportation flights involve their own specific rights abuses.<\/p>\n

Physical abuse and ill-treatment<\/h3>\n
\"Read<\/a><\/p>\n

Read UWCHR’s report on a DHS document recounting complaints of abuses<\/a> on deportation flights.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In recent years, allegations of egregious physical abuse on ICE Air flights have surfaced in several cases. The most notorious of these involved a failed 2017 flight to Somalia, in which 92 deportees were reportedly subjected to horrific conditions when the flight was waylaid in Dakar, Senegal, where it remained on the tarmac, with its deportee passengers bound and shackled, for almost 23 hours. For reasons that have never been clarified, the flight was unable to continue to its intended destination of Mogadishu and instead returned to the United States, where dozens of its former passengers joined in a\u00a0class action lawsuit against the federal government<\/a>. Numerous passengers provided sworn testimony describing physical beatings, the use of straitjackets, verbal abuse and threats, and the denial of access to restrooms, which forced passengers to soil themselves in their seats. In April 2019,\u00a0ICE announced the imminent deportation of the passengers<\/a>, despite several having appeals pending before US courts.<\/p>\n

Similarly, passengers from Nepal, Bangladesh, and India reported abuses including punching and kicking that left some passengers bloodied and crying on a\u00a02016 ICE Air flight to Bangladesh<\/a>. They described deportees who resisted boarding the plane being given electric shocks and forcibly placed in \u201cbody bags,\u201d[20]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0then carried or tossed aboard, reportedly landing in some cases with a thud \u201clike they were sacks of vegetables,\u201d\u00a0in the words of one passenger, Dalim Ahmed<\/a>. ICE has denied the use of tasers on this flight; while the Office of the Inspector General is said to have opened an investigation, we filed a FOIA request for its findings and were told that no record exists of any investigation.<\/p>\n

While these accounts are shocking, they are relatively few and far between when one considers the volume of daily deportation flights. However, given the lack of effective oversight of ICE Air, it is likely that many other abuses may go unreported. In fact, the only reason the egregious abuses on the December 2017 flight to Somalia came to light is because that flight was returned to the United States.<\/p>\n

Among the former deportees we interviewed, accounts of more routine ill-treatment were common, including the use of racist epithets and insults, and rough physical treatment upon boarding. A Salvadoran national, for example, described being called \u201cscum,\u201d accused of \u201ctaking our jobs,\u201d and watching other deportees stumble on the tarmac when shoved while wearing leg shackles at King County International Airport in Seattle.<\/p>\n

Due process violations<\/h3>\n

Attorneys representing immigrants have long complained that some of their clients are deported prior to the conclusion of their legal proceedings, rendering moot other rights protections under law. Some such cases have come to light previously, under rare circumstances where lawyers learned of deportations as they were happening and brought them to the attention of judges who then sought to pull passengers from planes or even reverse flights in midair.[21]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The lack of assigned counsel in deportation proceedings means that much more frequently, deportees lack representation. In other cases, attorneys only learn of their client\u2019s deportation after it is complete.<\/p>\n

The ICE Air database reveals, for the first time, of how widespread these due process violations may be. These violations are occurring despite the fact that ICE itself tracks information about the status of legal proceedings, and thus should be entirely preventable. The dataset contains one column, titled \u201cStatus,\u201d bearing alphanumeric codes that catalog the status of each passenger\u2019s deportation proceedings. These same codes also appear in other ICE records;\u00a0in a recent article, migration experts Donald Kerwin, Daniela Alulema and Siqi Tu offer an explanation<\/a>\u00a0of their meaning. Examining these codes permits us to see how many passengers were put on removal flights while they may still have had appeals pending, and how many were removed without access to the courts at all.<\/p>\n

For example, the dataset reveals that during FY 2011-2018, some 8,078 people were deported despite still having a pending legal process;[22]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0102 were removed despite having been granted a benefit that should block their deportation.[23]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0In these cases, the deportation was not lawful.<\/p>\n

This could be the result of ICE\u2019s lack of meaningful regulation of deportation decision-making. In a\u00a02017 investigation of ICE\u2019s deportation procedures<\/a>, DHS\u2019s own Office of the Inspector General concluded that inadequate guidelines were provided to officers in the field, even about matters as serious as when in the process to designate someone for deportation. \u201cDOs [Deportation Officers] are often allowed to act autonomously\u2026 even [in] deciding which aliens to recommend for scheduled deportation charters,\u201d the agency found.<\/p>\n

Additionally, for an ever-expanding category of migrants, US laws also allow deportation without access to the courts. According to the ARTS database, 627,694 people were removed through processes of expedited removal,[24]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0administrative removal,[25]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0or reinstatement of removal[26]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0\u2014three forms of summary deportation in which individuals are denied access to the courts. Created by the\u00a0Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996<\/em>, these three processes fast-track deportations for certain categories of individuals; their use has been steadily expanded in recent years.[27]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0As a result, the dataset shows that in FY 2018, nearly 71% of removals on ICE Air were of people whose cases were deemed ineligible for judicial review.[28]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

According to legal scholar Daniel Kanstroom<\/a>, this use of expedited removal \u201craises major due process concerns because arrest, detention, being placed in expedited removal, and ultimately removal with a five-year ban on return, are all in the hands of executive agents. In asylum cases, an immigration judge may be involved but even then federal review is essentially precluded. In most cases, a person subject to expedited removal is detained, has no right to counsel, often has no time to communicate with her family members or to seek legal counsel and has no right to appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lack of travel documents<\/h3>\n

One critical stage of the deportation process is the securing of travel documents\u2014typically a passport or ID card\u2014from a deportee\u2019s country of origin. A person deported without documents attesting to their identity runs the risk of becoming stateless, may face arrest or discrimination in the receiving country, and typically lacks the ability to access services or employment.\u00a0ICE\u2019s own policies therefore require that travel documents be secured prior to deportation<\/a>,[29]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0yet there is evidence\u2014both in past research and in the ICE dataset\u2014that the agency sometimes fails to follow its own guidelines, deporting people with fraudulent or nonexistent documents, at times even to countries other than their countries of origin.\u00a0[30]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0An attorney representing clients from the failed 2017 deportation flight to Somalia, for example, told us that the court order to review each case individually uncovered several individuals from that flight who had been issued false travel documents by the Somali government, likely under pressure from ICE.<\/p>\n

The ICE Air dataset includes 57 cases in which individuals were removed despite the agency\u2019s own records indicating that in these cases they were \u201cunable to obtain travel documents.\u201d Due to ICE\u2019s aforementioned use of fraudulent documents, the actual number of irregular cases may be higher.<\/p>\n

Refoulement<\/h3>\n

As human rights advocates have made clear, the flawed process of adjudicating asylum claims in this country already denies protection to many migrants for whom return to their country of origin may be life-threatening. International refugee law prohibits\u00a0refoulement,<\/em>\u00a0the forcible return of people to persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, to a situation where they would be at risk of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. However, the ICE Air dataset makes clear the extent to which people are deported to countries experiencing levels of violence and abuse that raise grave concerns.<\/p>\n

For example, the dataset reflects growing numbers of removals to Somalia, a nation in which large swaths of territory remain under the control of the terrorist group Al-Shabaab. In response to the Kenyan government\u2019s decision to deport undocumented Somalis in 2014, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees\u00a0issued a report urging restrictions on deportations to Somalia<\/a>. Human Rights Watch, among other organizations,\u00a0also has suggested<\/a>\u00a0that the return of Somalis to a country facing such instability constitutes refoulement. Yet US deportations to Somalia have escalated in recent years, and include\u00a0individuals who have specific reason to fear retaliation<\/a>\u00a0by Al-Shabaab. The ARTS database notes the removal of 580 Somalis.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the Trump administration has increased the numbers of people\u00a0deported to Mauritania<\/a>, where slavery is practiced by the ruling Arab Maghreb caste against black Mauritanians, who are not considered citizens.\u00a0Amnesty International has criticized this practice<\/a>, insisting, \u201cThese are people that have built lives and communities in the United States, started families, raised American children, and would now face the threat of slavery, torture, and death in Mauritania.\u201d ICE is deporting them anyway; 128 records in the database are of Mauritanian nationals.<\/p>\n

Of course, many other deportees are also returned to countries where their lives are in danger, often due to circumstances that fit awkwardly, if at all, into contemporary Department of Justice guidelines for the granting of asylum.[31]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Recent DOJ guidelines, for example, render it increasingly difficult for Central Americans and Mexicans\u2014who together make up over 95% of those on ICE Air removal flights, as seen in Figure 5 below\u2014to qualify for asylum when presenting claims related to gender-based violence or targeting by gangs, resulting in some migrants\u2019 deportation to their deaths.[32]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Such cases involve no less an egregious dereliction of responsibilities by US immigration authorities than those remanding migrants to war zones.<\/p>\n

Figure 5[33]<\/sup><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/div>\n

<\/h2>\n

Towards Accountability<\/h2>\n

We are unaware of any efforts to date to hold anyone accountable for abuses by ICE Air or its contractors. ICE Air\u2019s hybrid structure\u2014its operations are in some ways public, in others private; at times commercial, at others government; on occasion domestic, sometimes international\u2014also makes it easy for those responsible for these flights to escape accountability given the limited reach of regulations governing international air travel.<\/p>\n

Accountability within ICE<\/h3>\n

ICE has taken no discernible action to respond to allegations of abuse within ICE Air operations. In fact, it is not clear ICE is aware of abuses, as it lacks serious reporting mechanisms that would alert the agency to their occurrence.<\/p>\n

Unlike other federal agencies,\u00a0ICE lacks an independent ombudsperson<\/a>\u00a0to receive complaints by detainees or inform Congress of concerns. And ICE\u2019s internal investigations do not inspire confidence: the Government Accountability Office reported that between 2014-2016\u00a0more than two-thirds of ICE misconduct cases reported resulted in no action<\/a>. Additionally, an independent report submitted to the DHS Civil Rights and Liberties Office in May 2017 found that\u00a0under two percent of all complaints received by the agency led to an investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether deportees aboard flights are even able to file one of these complaints. The process by which detainees make complaints regarding abuses to ICE is stipulated in the\u00a0ICE Manual for Performance-Based National Detention Standards<\/a>, which establishes that detainees can internally file complaints to the facilities in which they are held or with an ICE field office, and that they \u201cshall be informed about the facility\u2019s informal and formal grievance system in a language or manner they understand.\u201d Because there is no specific mention of these same requirements outside of detention facilities,[34]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0it is questionable whether deportees on flights are made aware of their right to file a complaint, let alone able to access the process whereby they might do so.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, ICE Air\u2019s contracting system would seem to discourage the reporting of incidents of abuse. In an interview, Benjamin Shih, Section Chief of Detention, Compliance, and Removals in ICE\u2019s Office of Acquisition Management explained that ICE evaluates contractor performance using a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). The QASP measures performance according to standards for maintaining aircraft availability, on-time departures, readiness of crew, safety reports, accident\/incident reports, invoicing, and protection of sensitive information, including passenger manifests. These performance metrics are almost entirely focused on efficiency and aircraft safety. While issues of passenger mistreatment could be reported in the QASP\u2019s \u201caccident\/incident reports\u201d section, given that ICE typically sanctions contractors for poor performance by withholding payment for a flight, there is a built-in disincentive for contractors to report challenges of this nature.<\/p>\n

According to Shih, ICE oversight of those contractors\u2019 subcontractors is even further removed. ICE maintains \u201cprivity of contract,\u201d meaning that the actions of subcontractors are the sole responsibility of the contractor.\u00a0The contract between ICE and CSI<\/a>\u00a0required that \u201cif the Contractor utilizes multiple subcontractors to fulfill the scope of the contract, subcontractors are expected to cooperate with each other to fulfill the requirements of the contract.\u201d[35]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Yet the only mechanism by which ICE ensures that the subcontractor is fulfilling such requirements is through a \u201cSummary Contract Report\u201d submitted by the primary contractor to ICE.[36]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0It is unclear what this summary must include in regards to treatment of passengers. Under FOIA, UWCHR researchers requested copies of quarterly operational summary reports and were told that no such documents existed.<\/p>\n

Relatedly, UWCHR requested copies of Significant Incident Reports filed to the ICE Reporting and Operations Center (IROC) using the electronic Significant Event Notification (SEN) system about the use of force on removal flights from October 2010 to the present; ICE responded that no such records exist. According to the\u00a0U.S. Department of Homeland Security Privacy Impact Assessment for the Significant Event Notification (SEN) System (2010)<\/a>, the Significant Event Notification (SEN) System is is used by ICE ERO personnel to report such incidents, yet ICE responded that no such records exist.<\/p>\n

Accountability by the federal government<\/h3>\n

The federal government has failed to hold ICE accountable for known rights violations in many areas, and its Air Operations are no exception. In part, this is due to Congress\u2019 shirking its duties to exercise meaningful oversight of the executive branch. But in part, it also responds to significant gaps in aviation law, which has arisen primarily in response to the needs generated by commercial flights.<\/p>\n

FAA regulations are largely focused on aircraft safety and do not include any provisions directly related to the treatment of air passengers, except during emergency procedures.[37]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Where passenger rights are enumerated, they are conceptualized in terms of the ticket-buying customer. For example, under US law, 49 USC \u00a741712 and \u00a741702 stipulate that the Department of Transportation Secretary may open an investigation into any carrier that engages in \u201cunfair and deceptive practices,\u201d[38]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0and also states that an air carrier must provide a \u201csafe and adequate\u201d flight;[39]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0the US Department of Transportation issues various fact sheets that outline \u201cConsumer Rights\u201d in light of issues with airline ticketing and flight delays.[40]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The DOT also publishes several fact sheets calling attention to the prohibition of discrimination aboard airlines under US Code, but these too are clearly geared toward ticket-buying consumers.[41]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

International commercial agreements also shape industry practices; thanks to the International Civil Aviation Organization\u2019s Montreal Convention of 1999, for example, airline consumers can expect to receive compensation for cancelled flights or lost baggage. The same organization has attempted to delineate best practices for the treatment of deportees; one provision stipulates, for example, that \u201cduring the period when [\u2026] a person to be deported is under their custody, the state officers concerned shall preserve the dignity of such persons and take no action likely to infringe such dignity.\u201d[42]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0However, these efforts are aimed at standard-setting rather than enforcement.<\/p>\n

There are cases where recent laws have been written to counter abuses, including violence, on planes. 49 USC. \u00a7 46506 establishes the \u201cSpecial Aircraft Jurisdiction\u201d of the US,[43]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0which makes punishable certain crimes\u2014including assault\u2014that occur onboard an aircraft and establishes that they fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI.[44]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0This means that the FBI has the authority to open an investigation into abuses committed by personnel on deportation flights. However, this would require that a deportee was both aware of the FBI\u2019s jurisdiction over flights and able to contact the Bureau to request the initiation of an investigation. We are unaware of any case where this has occurred.<\/p>\n

While international human rights law has limited enforcement in the United States, some US statutes have been specifically written to protect against violations by US government or its agents. For example, the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005[45]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0establishes a \u201cprohibition on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of persons under custody or control of the United States Government.\u201d Specifically developed in response to US torture in Guantanamo Bay, this law is clearly geared to violations in that context, though it could also apply to certain abuses aboard deportation flights.[46]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Similarly, US Code 18 (1988), \u00a7 242, Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law,[47]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0prohibits the subjecting of persons to punishment or pain due to that person\u2019s status as an \u201calien\u201d, their race, or their color. The abuses that have occurred onboard deportation flights are perpetrated entirely against people of \u201calien\u201d status: the process of deportation is centered on removing them from the US, and every step of deportation is driven by the targeting, detainment, and removal of this particular group. The systematic \u201cpunishment or pain\u201d inflicted upon deportees onboard deportation flights therefore likely constitutes a deprivation of rights under this code. 42 US Code \u00a7\u202f1983 establishes civil protections for these same Constitutional rights violations.[48]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Specifically, under this code, the Supreme Court has held \u201cthat government has an affirmative duty to care for prisoners who, because they have been deprived of liberty by the state, cannot care for themselves.\u201d It has been used numerous times to protect the rights of detainees, particularly in regard to the eighth and fourteenth amendments to the US Constitution.[49]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Accountability by local government<\/h3>\n

Lastly, inasmuch as the flights touch down in specific geographic localities with varying commitments to human rights, there is the potential that state and local governments could exercise some measure of oversight in relation to the use of the airports they control. Currently, this avenue to accountability is limited by the local authorities\u2019 typically hands-off approach to the management of airports, but this approach is not inevitable, and may call for re-assessment, given the rights abuses of ICE Air.<\/p>\n

At the local level, most airports are owned and run by municipal authorities, in coordination with the FAA. Although the airports themselves typically do not have contracts with ICE for deportation flights, they provide the infrastructure through which private fixed base operators (FBOs) housed at the airport contract with ICE subcontractors to carry out, and profit from, deportation flights. When faced with questions about their role in deportation flights, municipal authorities may claim ignorance of such operations, or the inability to exercise any meaningful oversight,[50]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0but they derive income from landing fees associated with such flights, and are legally responsible for overseeing the operations of the FBOs to whom they lease space.<\/p>\n

Most local airports have received FAA funds through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), and in doing so have acquired a series of obligations, or assurances, to the federal government; these are sometimes cited by local officials as an excuse for inaction.[51]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0These assurances typically include the requirement that airports be made available for use by government aircraft. AIP assurances include the stipulation that \u201c[The airport] will make available all of the facilities of the airport developed with Federal financial assistance and all those usable for landing and takeoff of aircraft to the United States for use by Government aircraft in common with other aircraft at all times without charge.”[52]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The FAA Airport Compliance Manual defines government aircraft as follows: “All federal government aircraft are classified as airport users under federal obligations. Federal government aircraft include aircraft operated by the US Army, US Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force Reserve, all Air National Guard units, Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Forest Service, and US Customs Service.”[53]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Private contractors are not mentioned.<\/p>\n

One key point, therefore, is whether the deportation flights are properly considered “federal government aircraft”\u2014and whether the flights can be simultaneously defined as “federal government aircraft,” yet concealed from public records requests because they are operated by “private businesses.” (This has been the response to date of officials from King County International Airport, in Washington state.)<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether municipal airports have the authority to reject deportation flights, they clearly have responsibilities to oversee the health, safety, and public welfare implications of all businesses operating at their airport\u2014including the FBOs. The FAA Airport Compliance Manual, for example, notes that \u201cThe [local airport] may require an aircraft owner or operator to: …Limit equipment, personnel, or practices that are unsafe, unsightly, or detrimental to the public welfare.\u201d[54]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Local airports are empowered to conduct audits and ensure adherence to contract terms, which include following relevant city and county ordinances. FBO contracts with municipal airports include requirements to adhere with federal law, including stipulations to ensure that practices do not have a disproportionately adverse impact on communities of color[55]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0or violate the human trafficking protections in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Local governments have the authority and obligation to ensure that FBOs are complying with these contractual obligations.<\/p>\n

Lastly, municipal funds are sometimes also used to underwrite the cost of FBOs\u2019 expansion or development initiatives; for example, an ICE contractor reportedly obtained $250,000 from Local Development Act funds to help cover the cost of renovations at its private hangar in the Albuquerque airport.[56]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Localities interested in limiting their collaboration with mass deportation can curtail the use of public funds to facilitate the growth of companies who profit from these practices.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

As US immigration enforcement strategies have shifted in recent decades, so too have our government\u2019s transportation needs. While apprehensions at the Southern border have declined,[57]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0the massive surge in interior enforcement that began under Obama has led to the development of an expanding network of planes to transfer migrants to detention centers and expel them across borders. While ICE explained its 2011 switch from government planes to charter aircraft in terms of economic efficiency, the privatization of ICE Air is also clearly a reflection of political expediency: only a network built on the regular daily departures of privately-hired 737s and MD-80s can generate the numbers necessary to appease anti-immigrant sentiment and the profit required to placate campaign donors, yet conceal\u2014at least in part\u2014the ugly realities inherent to the project of mass deportation.<\/p>\n

Despite the difficulty in obtaining information about them, all along these flights have been hidden in plain sight. The ARTS database allows an appreciation of some previously-unknown aspects of their operation, but ultimately the most useful result of its release may be the confirmation of what immigrant communities have long known was happening at public airports, even in \u201cprogressive\u201d cities and counties\u2014the unrelenting expulsion of immigrants from their families and communities to countries where they often face harm. In recent years, legal and political mobilization have led to some local governments delimiting the extent to which they share information with immigration authorities or carry out civil immigration enforcement with local resources; no such barriers have been erected, yet, around the infrastructure for air transportation, but the time has come for this work to be done.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Notes<\/h2>\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0An exception to this is Mexican nationals, who are often deported across the US border by land. Even for such cases, however, ICE Air runs removal missions that transfer Mexicans apprehended elsewhere to US border cities from which they are bussed across the border.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0We are grateful for the supportive interventions by the offices of Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Pramila Jayapal when this request was initially ignored by ICE.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0These students included Zinaida Carroll, Julia Gentner, Sasha Jenkins, Eleanore Johnson, Ariella Kleiman, Shawna Krueger, Jackie Montstream, Sorana Nance, Colin Newton, Grace Sorensen, Grace Stephenson, Upandha Udalagama, and Julianne Werner. Additional research was performed by Emily Willard, Miguel Mariscal, and Guy Oron.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The dataset and code used to output this report will be made available at the time of publication via GitHub at the following link: https:\/\/github.com\/UWCHR\/ice-air<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Chart elaborated by UWCHR with data from ICE Air ARTS dataset.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0While there is no consistent legal definition of \u201csanctuary\u201d as used in contemporary immigration policy, the term generally refers to the crafting of local laws, ordinances, or practices designed to limit the extent to which local governments collaborate with federal authorities in immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0During Fiscal Year 2018, the last year for which complete data is available, ICE Air operations were carried out in 69 countries, including the US; passengers were picked up at 41 different airports and dropped off at 108 airports.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Figure elaborated by UWCHR with data from ICE Air ARTS dataset and the\u00a0Global Airport Database<\/a>.\u00a0KHRL (Harlingen, TX) and KBRO (Brownsville, TX) airport passenger totals are combined for clarity. International airports not depicted account for a relatively small proportion of total passengers. Due to the limitations of the ARTS dataset, \u201cflight paths\u201d as depicted here represent passenger pickup and drop-off locations, not exact flight itineraries; \u201cflight paths\u201d do not necessarily depict the shortest connection on a global map projection.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0ICE explains how it counts removals as follows: \u201cICE removals include removals and returns where aliens were turned over to ICE for removal efforts. This includes aliens processed for Expedited Removal (ER) or Voluntary Return (VR) that are turned over to ICE for detention. Aliens processed for ER and not detained by ERO or VRs after June 1st, 2013 and not detained by ICE are primarily processed by the US Border Patrol. CBP should be contacted for those statistics.\u201d See footnote 11, p. 10 of ICE\u2019s\u00a0Fiscal Year 2018 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0For example, the OIG notes \u201cARTS captures information such as the dates, routes, detainees, delays or cancelations (sic), and costs associated with each chartered flight mission;\u201d (p. 3) the dataset we received did not contain any information about delays, cancellations, or costs.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Chart elaborated by UWCHR with data from\u00a0ICE ERO\u2019s Year-End Reports for Fiscal Years 2011-2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Table elaborated by UWCHR with data from ICE Air ARTS dataset and\u00a0Fiscal Year 2018 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Report, Appendix B: FY2017 and FY2018 Removals by Country of Citizenship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See the Federal Aviation Administration\u00a0Air Traffic Control Policy<\/a><\/em>, page 3-1-101.<\/p>\n

[14]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0These include\u00a0flightaware.com<\/a>,\u00a0radarbox24.com<\/a>, and others.<\/p>\n

[15]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Under\u00a0ICE\u2019s draft Statement of Work<\/a>, released as part of the contracts solicitation process, a requirement is established that contractors provide the agency with \u201cQuarterly operational summary Safety Reports (including total number of flights per quarter, total number of flight hours per quarter by CLIN,# total number of flights designated by origin-destination pairs, details of any aircraft accidents or incidents including flight crewmembers involved \/ aircraft type\/ registration number \/ dates \/ location \/ number of passengers).\u201d<\/p>\n

[16]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Interview with Benjamin Shih, Section Chief of Detention, Compliance, and Removals in ICE\u2019s Office of Acquisition Management, March 1, 2019.<\/p>\n

[17]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See ICE Air’s\u00a0Charter Task Order Statement of Work<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

[18]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0This describes the contracting relationships as of April 2019. In the March 2019 interview, Benjamin Shih emphasized that ICE had initially relied up on multiple private brokers, rather than a single one, and might again move to such a model.<\/p>\n

[19]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0International human rights law recognizes the family as the fundamental group unit of society, entitled to protection and assistance. This is established in such instruments as Article 16(3) of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 23(1) of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and Article 10(1) of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).<\/p>\n

[20]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0These were most likely ICE\u2019s \u201chumane restraint blankets,\u201d which were replaced in 2017 with a new,\u00a0straitjacket-like full-body restraint called \u201cThe Wrap.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

[21]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See\u00a0this case<\/a>, in which a judge ordered the US government to \u201cturn the plane around\u201d;\u00a0or this one<\/a>, where a passenger was taken off a Bangladesh-bound flight from El Paso when it stopped to refuel in Hawaii;\u00a0or this one<\/a>, in which a Cambodian man was already on a plane for the first leg of his deportation journey, but was then not put on his connecting (deportation) flight.<\/p>\n

[22]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0ARTS removal records marked with status codes \u201c2A\u201d (\u201cDeportable – Under Adjudication by IJ\u201d); \u201c2B\u201d (\u201cDeportable – Under Adjudication by BIA\u201d); \u201c8A\u201d (\u201cExcludable\/Inadmissible – Hearing Not Commenced\u201d); \u201c8B\u201d (\u201cExcludable\/Inadmissible – Under Adjudication by and Immigration Judge\u201d); or \u201c8D\u201d (\u201cExcludable\/Inadmissible – Under Adjudication by BIA\u201d). Status code descriptions from Kerwin et al.<\/p>\n

[23]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0ARTS removal records marked with status codes \u201c5C\u201d (\u201cRelief Granted – Withholding of Deportation\/Removal\u201d); or \u201c5D\u201d (\u201cFinal Order of Deportation\/Removal – Deferred Action Granted\u201d). Status code descriptions from Kerwin et al.<\/p>\n

[24]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Expedited removal is a process whereby the Department of Homeland Security removes an individual without granting them access to a hearing before an immigration judge or access to an appeal before the Bureau of Immigration Appeals. Expedited removals are marked with with status codes \u201c8F\u201d, \u201c8G\u201d, \u201c8H\u201d, or \u201c8I\u201d in the ARTS dataset.<\/p>\n

[25]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Administrative removal is the process whereby the Department of Homeland Security removes noncitizens who are also not permanent residents who have been convicted of an aggravated felony under 8 USC. \u00a7 1228(b), INA \u00a7 238(b); the process occurs without a hearing before an immigration judge.<\/p>\n

[26]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Reinstatement of removal orders are applied to cases of individuals who were previously removed and re-entered without authorization; under the IIRIRA, they can be summarily deported without an opportunity to present their case before a court.<\/p>\n

[27]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See, for example, the most recent case\u2014where in the\u00a0February 2017 \u201cKelly Memorandum,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0DHS Secretary John Kelly ordered, invoking his \u201csole and unreviewable discretion,\u201d the expansion of the category of individuals to whom expedited removal would apply.<\/p>\n

[28]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0ARTS removal records marked with status codes \u201c8F\u201d (\u201cExpedited Removal\u201d); \u201c8G\u201d (\u201cExpedited Removal – Credible Fear Referral\u201d); \u201c8H\u201d (\u201cExpedited Removal – Status Claim Referral\u201d); \u201c8I\u201d(\u201cInadmissible – ICE Fugitive – Expedited Removal\u201d);\u201c11\u201d (\u201cAdministrative Deportation\/Removal\u201d); or \u201c16\u201d (\u201cReinstated Final Order\u201d). Status code descriptions from Kerwin et al.<\/p>\n

[29]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See ICE\u2019s\u00a0Detention and Deportation Officer\u2019s Field Manual Update<\/a><\/em>, pages 77-84.<\/p>\n

[30]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0For example, a\u00a0report by Families for Freedom<\/a>\u00a0includes the case of a man deported to Cameroon on clearly fraudulent documents which not only described his age as that of a toddler, identified him as a Cameroonian citizen when he was not, and included a photograph taken of another person. Similarly, a\u00a02007 report by the Office of the Inspector General<\/a>\u00a0found that ICE frequently filed incomplete requests for travel documents: United States Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General, ICE\u2019s compliance with detention limits for aliens with a final order of removal From the United States (Report No. OIG-07-28<\/a>), February 9, 2007. Also, see Aviva Stahl, \u201cHow US immigration officers use dubious identity papers to deport people<\/a>,\u201d Al Jazeera, September 30, 2015.<\/p>\n

[31]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0These guidelines can be found at the\u00a0Department of Justice website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[32]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See the following cases: Stillman, B. (2018, January 15).\u00a0When deportation is a death sentence<\/a>. The New Yorker; Vasquez, T. (2017, September 21).\u00a0Deported to death: Cases that reveal the danger of US immigration policy<\/a>. Rewire News.; Sieff, K. (2018, December 26).\u00a0When death awaits deported asylum seekers<\/a>. The Washington Post.<\/p>\n

[33]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Chart elaborated by UWCHR with data from ICE Air ARTS dataset. The chart depicts removal totals for all nationalities which enter the top 5 removal totals by countries of citizenship during any year between FY 2011-2018.<\/p>\n

[34]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0The grievance system outlined in this manual includes the right to complain to the DHS Inspector General, the DHS Civil Rights and Liberties offices, the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility, or finally, file a lawsuit.<\/p>\n

[35]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0US Immigration and Custom Enforcement, \u201cFY 2008 MIRP Performance Work Statement<\/a>,\u201d 2008, p. 12.<\/p>\n

[36]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Ibid., p. 7.<\/p>\n

[37]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, \u201cPart 135\u2014Operating Requirements: Commuter And On Demand Operations And Rules Governing Persons On Board Such Aircraft<\/a>,\u201d Code of Federal Regulations, title 14: chap. 1 subpart G.<\/p>\n

[38]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0\u201cUnfair and deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition,\u201d US Code 49 (1994), \u00a7 41712.<\/p>\n

[39]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0\u201cInterstate air transportation,\u201d US Code 49. (1994), \u00a7 41702.<\/p>\n

[40]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0US Department of Transportation,\u00a0Aviation Consumer Protection<\/a>, 2018.<\/p>\n

[41]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0US Department of Transportation,\u00a0Guidance for Airline Personnel on Non-Discrimination in Air Travel<\/a>, undated.<\/p>\n

[42]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0U.N Security Council, Counter-Terrorism Committee,\u00a0ICAO Best Practices Annex 9 Chapter 5: Inadmissible persons and deportees<\/a>, March 2016.<\/p>\n

[43]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States defined<\/a>, US Code 18 (2001), \u00a7 7.<\/p>\n

[44]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Application of certain criminal laws to acts on aircraft<\/a>\u00a0US Code 49 (1994), \u00a7 46506.<\/p>\n

[45]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Detainee Treatment Act of 2005<\/a>, US Code 42 (2005), \u00a7 21D<\/p>\n

[46]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0US Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service,\u00a0Interrogation of Detainees: Requirements of the Detainee Treatment Act<\/a>, by Michael John Garcia, RL33655, 2009.<\/p>\n

[47]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law<\/a>, US Code 18 (1988), \u00a7 242.<\/p>\n

[48]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Civil action for deprivation of rights<\/a>, US Code 42 (1996), \u00a7 1983.<\/p>\n

[49]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Roberta M. Saielli, \u201cDeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services: The Future of Section 1983 Actions for State Inaction<\/a>,\u201d Loyola University Chicago Law Journal 21, no. 169, 1989.<\/p>\n

[50]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See, for example, the responses of airport authorities in Toledo, OH: Lauren Lindstrom, \u201cIllegal immigrants deported from Toledo<\/a>,\u201d The Blade, June 23, 2016; and Gary, IN: Carlos Ballesteros, \u201cDozens gather at Gary\/Chicago International Airport to protest ICE deportations<\/a>,\u201d Chicago Sun-Times, July 6, 2018; and Meredith Colias-Pete, \u201cMore than 200 protest deportations at Gary airport under eye of armed SWAT officers<\/a>,\u201d Post-Tribune, February 24, 2018.<\/p>\n

[51]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Federal Aviation Administration,\u00a0Grant Assurances (Obligations)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[52]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Federal Aviation Administration,\u00a0Airport Improvement Program Assurances for Airport Sponsors<\/a>, March 2014, p. 14.<\/p>\n

[53]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Federal Aviation Administration,\u00a0Airport Compliance Manual<\/a>, September 30, 2009, p. 7-15.<\/p>\n

[54]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Ibid.<\/p>\n

[55]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See, for example, p. 24 of\u00a0Swift Air\u2019s contract with Hillsborough County Aviation Authority<\/a>\u00a0regarding operations at the Tampa, FL International Airport, which \u201censures non-discrimination against minority populations by discouraging programs, policies, and activities with disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on minority and low-income populations.\u201d<\/p>\n

[56]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Marjorie Childress and Trip Jennings, \u201cABQ aviation company mum on federal contracts related to immigration<\/a>,\u201d NM Politics.net, June 27, 2018.<\/p>\n

[57]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Adam Isaacson, \u201cThe US Government\u2019s 2018 Border Data Clearly Shows Why the Trump Administration is on the Wrong Track<\/a>,\u201d Washington Office on Latin America, November 9, 2018.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Published from\u00a0src\/ice-air-global.pmd<\/a>\u00a0using\u00a0Pweave<\/a>\u00a00.30.3 on 23-04-2019, with slight modifications for web publication.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year, “ICE Air” removes tens of thousands of people from the US via a network of private charter flights. The UW Center for Human Rights is making public an ICE database regarding these flights and documenting the corporations and municipalities participating in ICE’s deportation flights.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":492,"featured_media":5312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[253,238,13,325,362,15],"tags":[296,293,239,177,204,294,100,101,295],"class_list":["post-5291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2018-2019","category-freedom-of-information","category-human-rights-at-home","category-ice-air","category-immigrant-rights-observatory","category-news","tag-boeing-field","tag-deportation","tag-dhs","tag-human-rights-at-home","tag-ice","tag-ice-air","tag-immigrant-rights","tag-immigration","tag-king-county"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHidden in Plain Sight: ICE Air and the Machinery of Mass Deportation - Center for Human Rights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/humanrights\/2019\/04\/23\/ice-air\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hidden in Plain Sight: ICE Air and the Machinery of Mass Deportation - Center for Human Rights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Each year, "ICE Air" removes tens of thousands of people from the US via a network of private charter flights. 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