10/19/20

By Tom Cartwright

DEATH FLIGHTS - WEEK OF 12 October – please share for transparency

Ø RECORD BREAKING WEEK OF DEATH FLIGHTS

Ø 34 DEPORTATIONS - THE MOST DEPORTATIONS IN ANY WEEK IN 2020, EVEN PRE-PANDEMIC (these include expulsions under Title 42 (CDC Order).

Ø 10 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

Ø 125 TOTAL FLIGHTS – 4TH HIGHEST WEEK IN 2020.

Image: “Crying for Freedom” by Laurie Cooper

WEEKLY SUMMARY

- 126 Total Flights. Up 21 from last week, and 26 above the last 6-week average of 100.

- 34 Deportations – Up 6 from last week’s prior in-pandemic record, and 10 over prior 6-week average. To 10 different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa. It is clear now expulsions are driving the increase in Deportation/Expulsion flights. (See more in Note section)

- Mexico (8), Down 1 from week (see below). August was 7 per week and now stepped up to 9. Flights to 6 different cities this week, and the same as last week: Mexico City (2), Guadalajara (2), Puebla (1), Morelia (1), Villahermosa (1), and Queretaro (1).

- Honduras (5), same as last week and 5 three weeks in a row. For at least 3 months before there were never more that 4 per week. Two routes were coupled with Ecuador for the second week in a row. In July there were about 4 per week and prior to that 4-5 per week.

- Guatemala (6), same as last week and seems to be new normal. Up 1.5 from the June to mid-August levels of 2 or 3 flights per week. Since mid-August there have been about 1 per day.

- El Salvador (2), Up 1 from last week, and now 1 – 2 per week.

- Haiti (7), up 5 from last week and escalating. Before August there were 2 flights per month and in August and September there were 3 each month. 2 in one week is very unusual.

- Nicaragua (1), after 1 week without a deportation flight.

- Ecuador (2), same as last week and now 3 weeks with 2 in a week after 8 weeks since 2 in a week. Both were coupled with Honduras routes.

- Columbia (1), first time there has been 2 within 3 weeks in at least 6 months.

- Cameroon (1), 57 people from Cameroon were deported into a land of separatist violence between the Anglophone and Francophone factions. Many of whom fled for their lives. (see more below in notes).

- Democratic Republic of Congo (1), 28 people deported on the same plane as above into unstable condition in pandemic (see more below in notes).

- 21 Deportation US Connections, up 5 last week, and 5 above recent 6-week average of 16, consistent with increase in deportations.

- 31 Deportation Returns, up 7 from last week, consistent level of deportations.

- 40 Shuffle flights in the US, up 3 from last week, and 1 above the last 6-week average.

Ø NOTEWORTHY THIS WEEK

Ø Expulsions under CDC order (title 42): We are highly certain now that the increase deportation activity is the result of more people being expelled under the CDC order via flights. We understand that a “deportation” is different from an “expulsion” but for easy of discussion, and because both are on the same plane we will refer to all as deportation flight. Some of the increase in flights may be due to increased encounters and expulsions that run about 90% of encounters. Expulsions in September increased about 5,500 to 48,400. The increase follows increases of 8,400 and 7,000 in July and August, respectively. Deportations in August were 70 and they may reach 120 or more in October. At a conservative 85/plane that would be an increase of 4,250 deportees/expulsions by air. ICE will not comment, but it is reasonable to assume that Mexico may be pushing the limits of land expulsions resulting in much of the increase now expelled by air. A prime example is Haiti as discussed below. Another couple of weeks will confirm this.

Ø Haiti: Massive increase from 3 flights in September to 9 so far in October already, 7 this week alone. We understand from someone close to the situation that a majority are expulsions and that the planes include over 100 per flight. That means close to 1,000 Haitians returned so far in October alone, to a country that is ill-resourced to handle the pandemic. It seems exporting COVID into this situation is no concern of ICE.

Ø Mexico: There would have been 9 flights as is usual this week but on Friday one planned for Queretaro was diverted to Ontario, CA, the location of the Adelanto detention center. On Thursday a judge ordered that the population there had to be reduced at least 50 per day from 772 to 475 because of "callous disregard" for the health and safety of detainees.

Either through release or deportation. They cannot be transferred to meet the maximum level. It appears that the plane was repurposed to Phoenix to begin that process. We expect more activity there.

Ø Cameroon and D.R Congo: We received information and then began to work with almost 100 advocates to track a deportation flight to Cameroon and DR Congo. We found the OMNI Air plane and with the help of The Dream Team in Dallas monitored the detention center, busses and plane and then we tracked it from Dallas to Senegal (fuel) to Douala, Cameroon and to Kinshasa, DR Congo. 57 people were returned into imminent danger in Cameroon and 28 in DR Congo. We were at least able to provide the times and locations of the landings (ICE discloses nothing) so people could be on the ground to try to meet the returnees and provide some safety as they could. Reports are mixed but many are still in “quarantine” and some interrogated. What is not mixed, are the reports of the danger they are in at the hands of the government. Many advocates and Members of Congress pressed ICE to stop the flight on humanitarian grounds but they were not moved.

Ø The Detainee population dropped only 370 this week, to 19,372. Almost half of what it was at the end of February. The June weekly average decrease was about 650. May saw decreases of about 1,000 per week. But the last 2 weeks the reductions were only about 100 per week.

Ø Through September, 205,000 asylum seekers have been turned back and expelled under the illegal CDC order (title 42) since mid-March, 48,300 alone in September, up 5,500 from August..

Ø Almost 9,000 unaccompanied children have been expelled into danger alone since mid-March

- It has been reported by CBP that the few that may not qualify to be expelled, some not from Mexico or Northern Triangle Countries, are still being enrolled in MPP. We understand around 1,000 in September.

Ø 6,623 detainees have tested positive for COVID, up this week by 236 or .4%. Testing increased last week by 2,158 to 48,037 on a cumulative basis, so the positivity rate was around 14% testing has now increased to between 2,500 and 3,500 per week which leads me to wonder if more countries, other than Guatemala are now requiring tests before deportations. ICE will not comment. There are 728 detainees in isolation of under monitoring, almost the same as last week.

Note: ICE Air does not disclose their flights. Flight listing gleaned from public flight information, knowledge of detention center locations, air charter services and historic patterns. In rare cases, there may be a flight we miss, or include in error.