A recent article published by CNN explains how Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) deports immigrants from the United States. ICE Air Operations
is the division of ICE that arranges air transportation for immigrants
to return to their home countries after they have been ordered deported.
Last year, ICE chartered planes to fly over 110,000 people back home following
deportation proceedings. All passengers are handcuffed and ICE agents
patrol the aisles of the plane throughout the flight. Additionally, another
5,800 deported individuals were flown to their countries via commercial
air flights. While most deported individuals are flown to Central America,
particularly to Guatemala, followed by Honduras and El Salvador, ICE agents
flew deported individuals to 185 countries last year. ICE Air also may
fly detained individuals to immigrant detention centers across the U.S.
Some individuals may be flown to border towns and then bused across the
border to their native countries. This is particularly the case with Mexico,
where ICE delivers the highest number of deported individuals each year.
Domestic flight destinations include major U.S. cities such as Las Vegas,
San Francisco, Seattle, and Denver, to name only a few. There are smaller
U.S. cities that also serve as ICE Air hubs. ICE Air has five contracts
to charter up to ten flights for routine transports, each of which can
hold 135 detained individuals. If an immigrant who needs to be returned
to his or her home country due to deportation is a serious criminal or
violent offender, ICE may use a small jet to transport the individual.
It costs the U.S. government almost $2,000, on average, to transport a
deported person to his or her home country. The cost of a single flight
chartered by ICE is about $7,785 per flight hour. While the Department
of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of the Inspector General has
criticized ICE in the past for chartering flights that were not full,
ICE claims that if it waited to deport individuals until flights were
full, it would continue to incur daily costs of detaining those individuals,
which is even more expensive. Individuals who are detained and/or facing
deportation need an experienced California immigration attorney who can
assist them with this often complex process. At Landerholm Immigration,
A.P.C., we know how to stand up for the rights of those who are legally
entitled to remain in the U.S. Call us today at (510) 756-4468 and schedule
an appointment with one of our deportation defense lawyers, and learn
how we can assist you.
Categories:
Starting June 1, 2020, we are open for in-person consultations! We have social distancing protocols in place to keep everyone safe.
Please DOWNLOAD our FREE GUIDE for Immigrants to THRIVE during the COVID-19 Pandemic ( English / Español )!