6/12/20

By Tom Cartwright

DEATH FLIGHTS – THERE WAS NO SLOWING DOWN IN THE SEEDING AND SPREAD OF COVID

WEEKLY SUMMARY – Friday 12 June, for the week of 8 June 2020

92 Flights this week. – MORE ICE AIR FLIGHTS THIS WEEK THAN IN 7 OF THE LAST 8 WEEKS. THE ONLY WEEK IN THE LAST 8 WITH MORE HAD 94 FLIGHTS.

WEEKLY SUMMARY

- 92 Flights, 17 MORE than last week

- 16 Deportations – up 5 from last week’s 11.

- Honduras (5), up one from last week.

- Mexico (4), same as last week.

- Guatemala (2), up one from last week – flights have resumed; see more below.

- El Salvador (2), up two from last week.

- Nicaragua (1), up one from last week.

- Ecuador (1), up one from last week.

- Haiti (1), up one from last week.

- Last week there were also flights to the Bahamas (1) and Dominican (1), which were not repeated this week.

- 12 Deportation US Connections, up 6 from last week.

- 15 Deportation Returns, up 6 from last week

- 49 Shuffle flights in the US, up 2 from as last week. Interestingly, almost the same as last week even though deportation flights increased by 5 or 45%.

Ø Noteworthy this week:

-4 flights to Mexico City continued this week. 2 each from the Western sector of the border and the Eastern sector. We believe these flights primarily carry Mexican Nationals expelled under the CDC order for 2 purposes. First, to relieve pressure on border towns from the over 41,000 expulsions now between March 15 and the end of May. And, secondly, to discourage repeated crossings at the border.

-Despite heavy resistance by humanitarian advocates, another deportation flight went to Haiti this week with 35 people, many of whom were families. To a country on the brink of a medical COVID disaster, and with almost no medical resources. None of that matters to ICE.

-Flights to Guatemala resumed this week. The foreign Ministry announced there would be 2 flights in the week limited to 50 people, all of whom were to have been tested negative. One flight was of 50 of which 10 were children and the second of 49. We anticipate 2 more flights this coming week. Flights were suspended May 13 after Guatemala reported almost all 65 people on one plane had COVID. They say 186 deportees there have tested positive.

- The Ministry said that there are 5,457 Guatemalans in ICE custody of which 2,577 have a deportation order and the rest are still in process.

- Since mid-March Guatemala has received 2,160 deportees.

- Guatemala has been successful in slowing the flights significantly. The monthly average number of flights in Jan/Feb was around 40/month, in March/April it was about 20. Now it is closer to 8.

-It was reported by El Faro that 4 deportees to El Salvador tested positive after leaving Texas Despite that, and the extremely harsh deportee 30-day quarantine conditions in El Salvador, ICE continues deportation flights.

-A logical question is why do these countries continue to accept our COVID exportation. The answer is in the wielding of an imbalance in power with the US and the administration’s resolve to use threats ( visa restrictions) and benefits (COVID funding) to coerce these countries who so badly need assistance – but the strings attached only seed more damage.

1,849 detainees have tested positive for COVID, up 226, or 14%, this week. 5,096 have been tested, up 1,950 this week, so 36% positive rate. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE NUMBER TESTED JUMPED IN THE COURSE OF A DAY ON 8 JUNE. AND IT HAS REMAINED AT THE SAME NUMBER FOR 5 DAYS. ICE RESPONDED TO OUR INQUIRY REGARDING THE JUMP IN THE TESTING NUMBERS WITH: “We’re continuing to improve on our reporting processes, and this was just a catch up in reporting.”

There are 785 detainees in isolation or monitoring, similar to 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.