Fwd: August ICE Air Report - Record Month
Molly Molloy
From: tom cartwright <thcart...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 8, 2021 at 3:16 PM
Subject: August ICE Air Report - Record Month
Total ICE Air flights recorded a stunning record number in August of 694,
Crushing the prior 19-month high of 499 in October 2020 by 195, or 39%. August skyrocked over July by a massive 241 flights, or 53%. (page 13).
Removal flights in August totaled 99, up 53, or 115% from July, but still below October and September 2020 at 132 and 100, respectively, HOWEVER, if we add the 74 lateral flights in August to El Paso, San Diego and Tucson that are effectively removal flights, effective removal flights would be 173, over the July effective removal total of removals plus lateral flights by 94 (119%). (pages 6,13).
Two recently implemented removal initiatives by air, expedited removals and expulsion flights to southern Mexico, when added to the significantly escalated lateral flights, have propelled the mushrooming removal flights.
Lateral flights of 74 were up 41 from July, and 14 over April, the highest month since they began in March. Destinations continued to be El Paso (36), San Diego (29), and Tucson (9), for flights generally carrying 135 migrants with about 100 from each flight expelled. (page 6).
Since lateral flights started in March there have been 231 lateral flights through August resulting in up to 23,000 family members transported from the RGV where they were encountered to a western city and expelled into Mexico. (page 6).
Expedited removal flights to the Northern Triangle Countries began on 30 July with 3 flights and continued through August with another 28 flights in August (page 14). To be sure, there could be people subject to non-expedited deportations included, but flights to the Northern Triangle Countries were up 12 from July (excluding 3 July expedited flights).
As evidence of the increase in air removals, Guatemala reported that 587 people were returned by the US by air in August compared to 374 and 269 in July and June, respectively. With the direct daily (so far) T42 flights discussed below, we expect this number to grow by a factor of 2x-3x in September. By comparison, returns by air to Guatemala in August 2020, 2019 and 2018 were 1,346, 4,029, and 4,370, respectively.
Expulsion flights to Southern Mexico of Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans and maybe Nicaraguans to the cities of Villahermosa and Tapachula, began on 5 August and have continued with flights to each city virtually every weekday all month and into September. Once the people expelled reached these cities, Mexico subsequently expels them by foot into desperate and dangerous situations in Guatemala, especially El Ceibo, Guatemala, with no services. Between 5 August and 31 August there were 35 of these flights, 19 to Villahermosa and 16 to Tapachula. https://witnessattheborder.org/posts/9421
It should be noted that there have been 4-6 flights per month to Villahermosa since June 2020, presumably to repatriate Mexican Nationals to the INM reception center there.
ICE Air T42 direct expulsion flights to Guatemala began on 2 September, and there has been 1 flight each weekday since, continuing into September. Perhaps the US will negotiate for direct returns to other Central American countries and the expulsion flights to Villahermosa will end. Guatemala stated it would support returns to El Ceibo until the end of September. Tapachula is a bit different in that Guatemala could receive expelled migrants from Tapachula by INM bus to the reception center at Tecun Uman which is about 40km from Tapachula. There is some conjecture that INM may have already begun bus transfer from Tapachula to Tecun, but it has not been confirmed. The same is true for Villahermosa to El Ceibo.
Shuffle flights, those domestic flight legs not connected to an international return flight, soaring up to 458 in August from 344 in July (33%), and 90 (24%) over the prior 19-month high in April 2021 of 368. (page 13) If we normalize for 74 lateral flights, August at 384 was still up 73 (23%) over normalized July and 76 (24%) over the previous high of normalized April 2021. (pages 13).
Mexico Operated Removal Flights to Northern Triangle countries and internal Mexico expulsion flights to Tapachula appear to have escalated in April/May 2021. From 1 May 2021 through August, we have recorded 64 likely Mexico return flights to the Northern Triangle countries on Magnicharters, 40 to Honduras, 21 to Guatemala and 3 to El Salvador. These flights originated primarily in Monterrey and Reynosa. https://witnessattheborder.org/posts/9421-1
Moreover, during the same time we have recorded at least 77 likely removal flights to Tapachula with arrival times that seem to coordinate with ICE Air southern Mexico flight arrival times into Tapachula. The Tapachula numbers should be considered as a minimum as Magnicharters does not file flight plans and does not seem to operate transponders at all times during these domestic flights, making them more complicated to track.
As evidence of the ramp up of Mexican deportations by air, Guatemala reported that in October 2020 through March 2021 there were none, with only 1 plane in April. In August close to 533 people were returned by air from Mexico through 26 August on 4 planes. In all of 2020, only 546 Guatemalans were returned by air from Mexico and in 2019 a little over 100 per month were returned by air by Mexico.
Here is a very good fact sheet and explainer about access to asylum under the Biden Administration that was coordinated by the Women’s Refugee Commission, with contributions by many advocacy groups. https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Doubling-Down-on-Deterrence_-Access-to-Asylum-Under-Biden-FACTSHEET-1-1.pdf
AUGUST FLIGHT SUMMARY
In August, there were 694 likely ICE Air flights, up 241 (53%) from July. Removal related flights increased by 127 (117%), while domestic shuffle flights increased significantly by 114 (33%), of which about 80% are explained by an increase in lateral flights and their returns.
· - 99 removal flights, with 86 return flights, to 11 different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
· - 51 domestic flights connecting directly to removal flights.
· - 458 domestic shuffle flights between deportation locations.
· - 509 domestic flights (connections and shuffle flights).
· - Since President Biden’s inauguration there have been 3,097 likely ICE Air flights including 408 removal flights. If the 231 “lateral” flights to El Paso, San Diego and Tucson March-August are included, since they were essentially flights to expel by land, there would be 639 removal flights.
For the last 12 months, there were 5,031 likely ICE Air flights, 43% removal related (removal legs, connections and returns) and 57% shuffle flights around the US.
· - 864 removal flights, with 741 return flights, to at least 33 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Vietnam.
· - 540 domestic flights connecting directly to removal flights.
· - 2,886 domestic shuffle flights between removal locations.
· - 3,426 domestic flights (connections and shuffle flights).