SEATTLE — A new report by La Resistencia, a Washington-based immigrant rights organization, revealed a sharp increase in deportation flights coordinated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and operated by private charter airlines under federal contract.
According to the report, 42 ICE Air flights operated through Boeing Field between January and June. During that time, at least 1,342 individuals departed from the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma for deportation or transfer, while 913 others arrived at the facility via ICE flights. The report showed this year's numbers are on track to nearly double the number of flights in 2024.
La Resistencia volunteers observed these flights firsthand and describe harrowing scenes: Detainees shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles, struggling to ascend aircraft stairs without the use of their hands. In one instance, a woman using a walker waited at the base of the stairs for 30 minutes before guards assisted her aboard. Others waited in extreme weather conditions, sometimes up to half an hour, while guards processed passengers.
In at least two documented cases, guards used a full-body restraint device known as “The Wrap," a straightjacket-like apparatus with handhold straps used to immobilize individuals during deportation procedures.
“This is the largest mass transport program of people in chains since the end of the Slave Trade,” the report said.
The organization alleged that ICE and its contractors take deliberate steps to obscure flight information from the public. Since April, ICE reportedly began using “dummy” call signs and unlisted tail numbers to evade detection on commercial flight tracking platforms. Avelo Airlines, a budget carrier that began contracting with ICE in May, operates 79% of the agency’s Seattle-bound flights.
Despite a 2023 executive order from King County mandating transparency around ICE operations at the airport, La Resistencia claimed key flight data is missing from public logs and airport officials misrepresent their knowledge of incoming ICE flights.
"The importance of this observation is to bring to light the horrific, inhumane and deplorable conditions under which people are being deported to other countries or transferred to other states," Liliana Chumpitasi, a La Resistencia spokesperson said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The report urged King County to enforce its transparency mandate, called on private companies like Signature Aviation and Avelo Airlines to sever ties with ICE, and demanded an end to all deportation flights and detentions.
Acting King County Executive Shannon Braddock said in a statement she "shares concerns about ICE flights operating from the county airport, as these flights raise serious human rights issues.
"King County previously sought to stop these flights with a 2019 Executive Order that was ultimately struck down by federal courts," Braddock said. "As a public airport, we are legally obligated to allow chartered ICE flights to land and take off. All support and services for these flights are provided by a privately owned fixed base operator. Air traffic control is managed by federal FAA employees, not King County staff.
In 2023, a new executive order was issued that prohibits use of King County airport resources in deportations beyond what is legally required, provides a publicly available log of ICE flight data, and urges congressional leaders to address human and civil rights violations in deportation practices. Executive Braddock remains committed to transparency, protecting vulnerable communities, and holding federal immigration operations accountable to the values of King County residents while complying with state and federal law."
In addition to that statement, King County addressed specific issues regarding transparency addressed in the La Resistencia report.
"Due to a 2023 Executive Order, King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KCIA) maintains a log of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flights operating to or from our airport. Reports for each month are posted by the 15th of the following month.
This data includes flight dates, arrival and departure times, flight operator and number, where the flight originated and where it departed to, service provider, and services provided.
ICE has no obligation to provide information about its flights to KCIA. A Fixed Base Operator, Signature Aviation, currently services the flights. Signature is not required to notify KCIA of ICE flights. While Signature provides some basic information about some of the flights, the information is often inconsistent.
Sometimes notification is provided only immediately before the flight arrives, and some ICE flights are not announced at all.
In addition, ICE does not inform Signature of the number of passengers on each flight KCIA has requested passenger information from ICE but has not received information.
To provide additional transparency, KCIA provides two live camera views of ICE flights on its public website. The livestream is activated approximately one hour before scheduled arrival and deactivated soon after departure.
One camera is fixed to the air traffic control tower and the other is fixed to a mobile trailer. The airport does not have control over the orientation of aircraft."
La Resistencia's report flagged issues with the camera feed, saying sometimes the feed is not up on time, when the observers arrive at the airport. The group said sometimes the camera is pointed at "odd angles," making it difficult to count how many people are boarding or deplaning.
As deportation flights increase nationwide, La Resistencia tracked over 2,300 ICE flights in May and June. Advocates warned that the lack of public oversight and the growing involvement of private contractors threaten to further erode accountability in the immigration system.
“This is not just a local issue,” the report concluded. “It is a national crisis of conscience.”