The brutal facts of the ice air

In Donald Trump’s second state, ICE and customs application escalated Surprising raidsand The arrest of legislatorsAnd release a The new Florida detention center with The alternative right Blitz media.

But ice grows in less clear ways as well. Since January, it has expanded the mysterious network of rented airlines that closed tens of thousands of detainees across the country and the world on deportation flights. The official appointment of this network is The Department of Air Operations for Migration and Customs. Many people only call it “Ice Air”.

Ice is less brutal than the heavy agency field operations. But its brutality comes in the form of size, speed and efficiency – the features that you may want in a commercial airline, but not in a growing law enforcement weapon.

When founded in 2003, ICE did not have the internal ability to deport people. rely on American Field Marshal Service To run deportations on the Boeing 737S fleet used primarily to transport federal guests throughout the country.

Soon removal trips became an important tool for ice. It was an effective way to deport large numbers of people without the general scene of the use of commercial aircraft or public airports. In 2005, the American guards flew Nearly 100,000 deportations On behalf of ice, for only 58,000 prisoners for the Ministry of Justice. By the end of the contract, the guards were more than 170,000 people every year but He did not have the ability To deal with more.

Therefore, under Barack Obama’s management, the agency turned into the private sector. In 2010Ice started working with a company called Air CHARER Classic to Broker. during World War on terrorismand Company As an intermediary of the CIA “An extraordinary delivery“The program, identifying rented flights that are suspected of terrorism Black CIA sites around the world. The deportation will simply be an expansion in its government actions.

And one is more profit. rarely Seven numbers lands. On the other hand, the rented contracts from ICE will be valuable Hundreds of millions From dollars every year.

Since then, ICE AIR has grown to become the competition of a small commercial airline. It runs a fleet from 12 large planes ((Currently a mixture of Boeing 737s, MD-80S and Airbus A320s) Every day, in addition to a reserve fleet More than 100 Aircraft of various sizes that can be activated for one -time trips.

Do not make ICE its ways, scales, or even general aviation statistics. However, the Law of Freedom of Information from Washington University revealed that between 2010 and 2018, ICE AIR flew 1.7 million people On 15,000 deportations. Using aircraft tracking databases such as ADS-B exchangeA non -profit witness of immigration rights is estimated at the limits that the ice air has been transferred to another 10600 deportation trips Between January 2020 and May 2025.

“There is no disclosure, there is no reports, and this is according to the design that is not transparent,” says Thomas Cartrait, who leads the follow -up project for the witness on the border. “People deserve to know what is happening.”

On these flights, conditions are often not human and sometimes dangerous.

Responsible “Ice Air Force booklet“It requires all sports “Be completely restricted with handcuffs, waist chains and legs of the leg” during their journey. Access to contact lenses, medical prescriptions, belts, and jackets are rejected. They receive a meal of one dry sandwich and granola tape (chips and spices is not allowed), but they do not guarantee access to the bathroom.

The fun claims that the ice air employees This experience often makes worse. There are hundreds of verbal and physical allegations and in some cases until sexual assault on the two deportees since 2010.

Sometimes, this limits are offending torture. In 2012, a woman who was pregnant with twins began to bleed during a deportation trip to El Salvador, but the crew refused to declare a state of emergency or transfer the plane. It is a miscarriage after a short period of landing. In 2016, it was claimed that ICE officials used Tasers to subjugate the deportees On a trip to Bangladesh. In 2020, many deportees on a trip to Cameron accused ice officers of placing them in an emergency -like emergency “called” “Wrapping“until 12 hours every timeThis led to bleeding, bruises and respiratory issues, and in some cases a permanent injury after that.

“In Cameroon, I was beaten with a sickle until my feet enlarged and bleeding, and I repeatedly hit with a metal belt clip,” One reference said In a legal complaint. “But on the day I was put in the cover with ice, I wanted to die. I never felt this terrible pain.”

Officially, ICE says that abuse reports are exaggerated, This “He has the utmost confidence in the professionalism of the workforce (her) and their commitment to … politics.”

But it does not have a real driving force for change. Public anger has focused so far on enforcement and detention activities; The ice air was greatly ignored. Its Ministry of Internal Security has Not Significant control For ice Or any of the other agencies, including Customs protection and borders and Transportation Security Department. No president – Obama, Biden or Trump – did not interfere with him or even expanding the ice air.

ICE AIR has already played a major role in many prominent deportations this year. Transferred Mahmoud Khalil To a processing facility in Gina, Louisiana, within hours of his arrest in New York. For three days, it took it Kilmar Abrago Garcia To two facilities in Louisiana and Texas before being deported to the notorious El Salvador Cecot Prison. The Agency’s ice air scale and speed allows the transfer of detainees faster than the courts can interact – or perhaps in particular in case Illegal deportation.

Now, and Trump administration He wants it Three times the folder From deportations for more than a million a year. To this end, the huge budget bill I signed the law on July 4 It will add $ 75 billion to the ICE budget over the next four years, in addition to More than 11 billion dollars He was already planning to spend next year. Ice will soon become the largest federal law in the country.

Its airspace grows to meet this new demand. Last year, the agency And the transformed air journey From the classic air charter to CSI flyingAnother company that has long -term links with Ministry of Defense. In May, CSI A rental contract was signed for three aircraft From Avelo Airlines, a Relative new (and With the density of debt) The low -cost carrier. Through its expanded fleet, Ice Air opened 1089 digital trips in May and 187 trips in June, nearly twice the volume of its flights for one year. It is now flying to Growth list to Countriesfrom Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to South SudanAnd this has agreed to accept the deportees on ice regardless of nationality – a strange resonance for the trips of the CIA “extraordinary delivery” that was the original style of the ice air.

“Our infrastructure will be huge,” The Acting Ice Director Todd Leon Fox News told After the budget bill has passed. “The morale was not higher.”