4/23/20
By Tom Cartwright
DEATH FLIGHTS – 23 APRIL 2020
14 FLIGHTS TODAY
Ø Today, in the midst of the greatest pandemic of our lifetimes, we sent 129 people, including 49 children, back to Haiti, the poorest country in this hemisphere and possibly one that is the most ill prepared to care for people with COVID. It is estimated Haiti only has 60 ventilators of which 20 may work for a population of 11 million people and only 124 ICU beds. Not long ago we sent 3 people back with COVID that represented 8% of Haiti’s cases at the time.
Ø Just this week, 164 humanitarian groups signed a letter pleading to stop deportations to Haiti because of the significant health risk. ICE was deaf to these pleas and continued to deport hate.
Ø Previously we reported that there were 50 deportees to Guatemala with COVID. Yesterday that number rose to 63. Last week the US wanted to verify Guatemala’s claims and sent CDC testers there. They tested 12; all 12 were positive.
Ø Guatemala continues to enforce their suspension of deportation flights. No other countries have banned flights, even temporarily. The obvious question is, why? The administration has made it clear that if any countries refuse or delay the return of citizens the US is deporting that they may suspend visa access. Call that what you will, I call it coercion. Guatemala may have a bit more leverage in that it’s the only country with an in-force asylum cooperation agreement to accept deportees from Salvador and Honduras which the administration would not want to unravel.
Ø The population of potential deportees with COVID continues to rise. Today ICE reports 297 detainees positive for COVID, up 14 from yesterday. As latest info from ICE (Ap.21), 425 had been tested so this represents 70% of those tested as of that date.
WITH THAT AS A BACKDROP HERE ARE TODAY’S 14 ICE AIR DEATH FLIGHTS
- MIAMI to PUERTO RICO
- PUERTO RICO to MIAMI
- MIAMI to DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC to MIAMI
- SAN ANTONIO to HAITI
- HAITI to SAN ANTONIO
- PHOENIX to EL PASO
- EL PASO to ALEXANDRIA (LA)
- ALEXANDRIA to BROWNSVILLE
- BROWNSVILLE to EL PASO
- MIAMI to COLUMBUS (GA)
- COLUMBUS (GA) to ALEXANDRIA (LA)
- ALEXANDRIA (LA) to BROWNSVILLE
- BROWNSVILLE to MIAMI