12/21/20
By Tom Cartwright
DEATH FLIGHTS - WEEK OF 14 December – please share for transparency. Photo: by Witness Florence: Omni Air (ICE Air) deportation to Africa.
Ø Lowest level of deportations (16) to Latin America and the Caribbean since the week of 9 August.
Ø 7 Weeks with no flights to Honduras because of hurricanes Eta and Iota. Prior there were 4-5 per week.
Ø Lowest level of deportations to Guatemala (2) since the week of 3 August
Ø We will be very interested in # of encounters when reported for December. I think they may be flat to down, a contrarian guess. See discussion in special notes below.
Ø 16 deportation flights to 9 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean AND deportations to 5 African countries.
WEEKLY SUMMARY
- 82 Total Flights. Down 4 from last week, and 5 below the last 6-week average.
- 16 Deportations plus a deportation flight to 5 African countries– Down 1 from last week, and 3 below prior 6-week average. 7th week of no flights to Honduras because of Hurricanes Eta and Iota when there were usually 4-5 per week. To 6 different countries in Latin America and 5 countries in Africa.
- Honduras (0), No flights to Honduras because of Eta and Iota For the 7th week in a row resulting in the suspension of 28-33 flights based on patterns. The last flights (4) were Friday, 30 October before Eta hit Honduras on the following Wednesday. The airport was flooded also by Iota and it is not estimated to open until mid-to late December. It is unknown if ICE Air will try to fly to an alternative location in Honduras. The suspension may be more because the airport is flooded and less because ICE cares about humanitarian concerns. See Guatemala below. The President of Honduras was in the US this week for 4 days and the Foreign Minister asked officially for the US to provide TPS (temporary protected status) for Hondurans here.
- In the 4 weeks of October, 900 people were returned by the US to Honduras. None have been returned over the last 7 weeks. We do not know if they have been expelled to MX by land, or are being held. And we don’t yet know if encounters are lower (CBP should report in next 10 days). CBP will not respond to our inquiry.
- Dominican (1), Continues in a every other week pattern.
- Guatemala (2), same as last week and 3 below a typical week the prior month and running at half of that. We do not know the reason for the slow down. The longer it goes at this level the more it strengthens our view that encounters are not increasing, and may decrease in December.
- Mexico (9), Same as last week and typical of almost every week over the last four months. August was 7 per week and August through November stepped up to 9. Flights to 6 different cities this week, and similar to every week: Mexico City (2), Guadalajara (2), Puebla (1), Morelia (1), Villahermosa (1), and Queretaro (2). Click here for is a very good video of a deportation flight and article from this Friday at Brownsville by Sandra Sanchez.
- El Salvador (2), Down 1 from last week and below recent historic pattern of 3-4. It is, however, consistent with most of August – November. One flight was coupled with flights to Ecuador.
- Ecuador (1), Down 1 from last week and fairly consistent with 1 to 2 per week. The flight was coupled with an El Salvador flight.
- Jamaica (1), Up from last week, and consistent with 1 flight about every 4 weeks.
- Africa – There was a deportation flight to Africa continuing the patter of 1 flight every month for the last 4, and perhaps5 months. This was an Omni Air charter and over the 3- hour deportation duration from Alexandria ICE deported people to 5 countries; Senegal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. In 5-point chain restraints the entire time. Again, we supported some tireless advocates to disclose what ICE will not, the route and times so there would be a chance to have family and advocates meet the plane in country when possible. Each time we do this and advocates show up for the flight ICE and OMNI try to hide what they don’t want us to see. They mask the flights and do not file flight plans for public view. So far, we have sources. Click here for my twitter feed on this deportation journey.
- 14 Deportation Connects, down 1 from last week and 3 below the last 6-week average and consistent with deportations.
- 15 Deportation Returns, same as last week, and 2 below the prior 6-week average and consistent level of deportations.
- 37 Shuffle flights in the US, down 1 from last week, and 1 below the last 6-week average.
Ø NOTEWORTHY THIS WEEK
Ø ENCOUNTERS: Even though encounters were essentially flat in November at 61,101, for years after Hurricane Mitch in 1998 there was a significant migration North and many believe it is highly likely that we will start to see this soon.People have not only lost hope, but all their belongings and their source of their livelihood. Climate migration will be a powerful future force and it is here now. There was a small caravan that left Honduras this week, but disbanded after Honduran authorities required proof of a negative COVID test.
- I am wondering now if there will be a slight pause over the next month in encounter increases as a result of the dislocations from the hurricanes, the holidays, and the continues aggressiveness of Guatemala and Mexico to migration which may dissolve in the new year. And that, combined with the hurricane devastation, may spur more migration.
-And, that is not to sound an alarm, the US should be in a position to accept that migration if we have resolve of will and to invest resources.
Ø FAMILY DEPORTATION: This week we also supported a group of determined lawyers and advocates to stave off the deportation of some of the 28 families in detention. You may remember these are families that were given the choice to self-separate. The children could stay in the US but not the parents. On Friday some of the families were deported to El Salvador and Guatemala. Click here for a good piece by Adolfo Flores of Buzzfeed.
Ø The Detainee population decreased 214 this week, a reasonably typical change. The population of 16,163 is under half of what it was at the end of February. The average decrease over the last 4 weeks has been 196.
Ø Through November, 326,000 asylum seekers have been turned back and expelled under the illegal CDC order (title 42) since mid-March, 61,000 alone in November, or 90% of all encounters. Almost 13,000 unaccompanied children have been expelled into danger alone since mid-March according to the ACLU press release describing the Court order that now prohibits unaccompanied children from being expelled under Title 42.
- 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 8,807 detainees have tested positive for COVID, up this week by 199 or .3%. Testing increased last week by 2,699 to 72,784 on a cumulative basis, so the positivity rate was around 11%. The average number tested over the last 4 weeks has been very consistent. There are 494 detainees in isolation of under monitoring, virtually 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.