ICE Conducted 245 Removal Flights in April, Report Says

Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted at least 245 removal flights in April, the highest monthly total since independent monitors began tracking the planes in 2020, according to a report released Thursday by Human Rights Watch. Hundreds of people were deported on those flights to 38 countries.

The total represented a 94 percent increase from April 2025. One flight stood out for its duration and number of stops. A plane carrying deportees flew to Poland and Moldova while also dropping people in Armenia, Georgia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. The journey lasted 51 hours.

Deportees remained in physical restraints for the entire time, including during layovers and fuel stops. Deportees on ICE flights are routinely restrained with handcuffs, waist chains and leg irons. The agency has also used a full-body restraint suit in some cases.

The vast majority of flights are operated by ICE Air Operations, which contracts with CSI Aviation to arrange charters from small airlines.

The rise in flights was driven largely by increased removals to Mexico, which accounted for at least 68 flights in April. Those flights to far-flung Mexican cities averaged 23 per week by mid-April, a 113 percent increase from the same period the previous year.

Officials froze deportations of Mexican nationals by land in an apparent effort to reduce returns to the U.S.-Mexico border. At the same time the administration accelerated so-called third-country removals, in which individuals are sent to countries where they have no citizenship, family ties or clear legal protections.

The number of third-country removal flights more than doubled from March to April. First-time flights went to at least nine countries. More than 17,500 immigrants have been deported to at least 21 third countries since the start of the current administration, according to separate reporting by Human Rights First and Refugees International.

The administration has pledged at least 44 million dollars to more than 30 countries that have agreed to accept deportees from the United States. Many of those countries face financial constraints and some have records of human rights concerns. Deportees frequently end up in hotels, shelters or prisons in the receiving countries.

Some face risks of refoulement, in which they could be sent onward to places they had previously fled. " — Savi Arvey (Human Rights First) The Independent has requested comment from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. The agency has not released monthly totals for the number of people removed.