"ICE, ICE Baby": Deportation Flights Surge After LA Raids
A wave of immigration raids in Los Angeles doubled ICE deportation flights from Southern California airports between May and June.
Deportation flights from Los Angeles more than doubled in June, according to LA Times investigation
A report by the Los Angeles Times revealed that ICE-linked deportation flights more than doubled in the Los Angeles area during the month leading up to June 15. The newspaper attributes the surge to intensified immigration operations, including a major June 6 raid in the Fashion District that, according to the White House, led to the detention of 330 people by June 11.
Many of those arrested were transported out of California on special flights, the Times reported. While ICE declined to provide specific details for security reasons, the agency confirmed that regional offices coordinate transfers with ICE Air Operations, based in Mesa, Arizona.
The Times based its analysis on data from Tom Cartwright, a volunteer with Witness at the Border, who has tracked over 36,000 ICE flights over the past five years using flight and registration data.
Between May 15 and June 15, the Times recorded 29 deportation-related flights from airports in the Los Angeles area, compared to just 11 during the previous month. Nearly 70% of those flights departed from Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, near the ICE detention center in Adelanto. Other departures were identified from Hollywood Burbank Airport and Meadows Field in Bakersfield.
Regarding destinations, about a quarter of the flights landed at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona, while around 20% went to El Paso, Texas, where the Mexican consulate confirmed that some detainees are being held.
A section of the Witness at the Border report notes that ICE Air contracts with intermediary company CSI Aviation, which subcontracts flights to carriers including GlobalX, Eastern Air Express, World Atlantic (Caribbean Sun), Eastern Air, OMNI Air, and Kaiser. Smaller jets operated by Gryphon Air (ATS) are used primarily for long-haul flights to Africa, the Pacific, and Europe. Historically, most flights have been handled by GlobalX and Eastern Air Express, while the other airlines participate more sporadically.
The documentation also includes deportation flights operated by foreign governments: Mexico uses VivaAerobus, Panama uses Air Panama, and Venezuela uses Conviasa.
ICE Air Operations also runs flights from cities including Miami, Alexandria (Louisiana), San Antonio, and Brownsville (Texas), the Times noted. These charter flights often make multiple stops domestically and internationally, though exact passenger routes are not trackable. Between January and May, ICE conducted 685 deportation stops to over 30 international destinations, a figure similar to the same period last year. Among destinations outside the continental U.S. were San Juan (Puerto Rico), San Pedro Sula (Honduras), Tapachula (Mexico), and Guatemala City.
Charter airlines conducting deportation flights for the U.S. government have faced increasing public scrutiny. Avelo Airlines removed branding from planes used in such operations due to its exposure as a commercial carrier, while GlobalX reportedly suffered a website hack.
Download document: ICE Air Report – May 2025 by Tom Cartwright
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