Most ICE Deportation Flights Are to Central America

ICE launched raids in Boston over the weekend, while an immigration crackdown is expected to take place in Chicago in the coming days. This development follows reports of a surge in immigration arrests in Washington D.C. and comes after a wave of aggressive ICE operations in Los Angeles earlier this summer. The Trump administration has said it will be focusing enforcement efforts on sanctuary cities, which are jurisdictions that restrict local law enforcement from sharing information with federal immigration authorities.

The Trump administration has overseen more than 1,100 deportation flights since the start of this year, according to data collected and analysed by Thomas Cartwright for Witness at the Border, an immigrant advocacy group. The vast majority of these have been destined for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. As of the end of July, 955 ICE removal flights were reported as going to the region this year, including 247 flights to Guatemala, 208 flights to Honduras, 136 flights to Mexico, 103 to El Salvador and 47 to Ecuador.

Meanwhile, 57 flights went to 22 countries in Africa, including seven flights to Mauritania and four flights to Angola, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal. A total of 22 flights had been sent to Asia as of July, including six flights to India, three to Nepal and two each to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. In Europe, one flight went to Albania, another to Greece and one to Kosovo. In Oceania, one flight went to the Marshall Islands.

The main departure hub for ICE air deportations in 2025 has been Alexandria in Louisiana, accounting for 290 removals flights between January and July (or 26 percent of total removals flights). The three next biggest hubs by removals flights so far this year are Harlingen (TX) with 185 flights (17 percent), El Paso (Texas) with 167 flights (15 percent) and San Diego (CA) with 53 flights (five percent).