As immigrant communities across the country were still bracing for potential mass raids by the new Trump administration, NBC News got an up-close look at one of the last deportation flights to Central America to take place during the Biden administration.
Here’s how the journey, an example of how a typical such trip happens regardless of administration, unfolded step by step.
Every immigration case is different, but for each unauthorized immigrant who is ultimately deported, the journey begins with an arrest. That arrest could come from a simple run-in with the law such as a traffic stop, or it could be the result of a workplace raid, or — for those with criminal backgrounds — it could start with a knock at the door.
From there, immigrants are transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, which could be local or a few hours away. Currently, ICE has a little over 100 facilities nationwide that can hold up to 41,500 people total, but the Trump administration is promising to build more detention facilities and work with the military to build soft-sided temporary structures for detention.
Immigrants who have arrived in the U.S. within the last two years could be subject to expedited removal, which means they do not go before an immigration judge and can be deported within weeks.
For immigrants who have been here longer than two years, the time between an arrest and deportation has been known to last for years. It’s unclear if the Trump administration can speed up that process.
If a judge determines that an immigrant should be deported, then they are given what’s known as a “final order of removal.”
Typically, the person would then be flown from a local airport via a commercial airline — or, more commonly, by one of ICE’s 10 planes — to one of four staging locations along the southwest border, which are in Mesa, Arizona; Alexandria, Louisiana; and San Antonio and Harlingen, Texas.
People awaiting deportation then remain at the staging facility, which is similar to the ICE detention facilities, for a few days. They are then driven back to the airport to be loaded on an airplane chartered by ICE Air Operations to be flown to their home country.
The Trump administration has also started to use military planes to deport immigrants who were detained by the Biden administration to Guatemala. The Pentagon announced that its planes will fly out an estimated 5,000 who have been in detention.
For ICE flights, the people being deported are not allowed to bring carry-ons, but they can bring one bag weighing up to 40 pounds. Many passengers are restrained with handcuffs, leg irons and a belly chain. Children and parents accompanying children are not restrained. Between 13 and 20 guards accompany the flight, as well as medical staff, and food is provided during the flight, according to ICE officials and public documents.
The ICE Air planes are chartered by ICE and are standard large planes that look no different from any commercial jet holding around 150 people. To expand deportations to the levels President Donald Trump has promised for his second term, ICE would have to increase its fleet significantly.
ICE officials emphasize that each flight requires careful diplomatic negotiations with the countries that are accepting the passengers and a series of logistical steps. The countries where migrants are deported don’t have to take them back. For example, on Friday a military deportation flight did not take off because Mexico refused to give the green light for it to land.
“We’re talking the plane itself, permits to be on the ground, fuel, the wages of the employees and contractors, detention, costs, transportation. There’s a slew, a myriad, of things that are being considered and paid for in order for this operation to happen here today,” San Antonio Field Office Director Miguel Vergara said, describing the flight NBC News got a close look at.
Once the flight lands, the passengers are met by local officials, who conduct interviews. Typically, they also receive a medical evaluation. Then, if necessary, they are transported back to their hometowns.
