ICE conducts more removal flights of singles, families to Caribbean

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been facilitating removal flights for single adults and family units to several Caribbean and Central American countries.

Between October 28 and November 1, ICE coordinated these flights in partnership with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), targeting destinations such as Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico.

“If a noncitizen arrives and has no legal basis to remain in the United States, they are processed and removed quickly, consistent with US law,” ICE said.

Since June 5, when the Presidential Proclamation and Interim Final Rule took effect, DHS has removed or returned more than 160,000 individuals to over 145 countries through September. This excludes repatriations from airports and the northern border.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) operated more than 495 international repatriation flights during this period. DHS tripled the percentage of southwest border encounters processed for expedited removal.

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Preliminary data shows DHS completed over 700,000 removals and returns in fiscal year 2024 – the highest since 2010. This included record removals to non-Mexican countries.

DHS has halved the processing time for removing individuals without legal basis to remain.

In fiscal year 2023, ERO conducted 142,580 removals and 62,545 Title 42 expulsions to more than 170 countries worldwide.