Deportation flights hit record highs but become harder to track: Report

Immigration advocates say airlines are making it more difficult to monitor U.S. deportation flights by using “dummy” call signs and blocking aircraft tail numbers from public tracking websites. The report comes as deportation flights have reached record highs under President Donald Trump, according to flight monitors.

Until recently, advocacy groups say they could follow the flights on websites such as FlightRadar24 and FlightAware. Now, many of those flights appear as “not available,” forcing volunteers to rely on camera surveillance at airports, information sharing and open-source data to keep track.

Airlines legally blocking data

The Federal Aviation Administration allows airlines to block identifying details of aircraft through its Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) program. That means planes can be tracked in motion without tail numbers, destinations or arrival times.

FlightRadar24, one of the largest public trackers, confirmed to the Associated Press that multiple airlines have requested to block aircraft used for ICE flights in recent months.

In addition to blocking tail numbers, airlines have also altered the call signs used to identify flights. For example, GlobalX normally uses “GXA” but has reportedly changed its identifiers on flights tied to ICE.

Monitoring deportation flights

Advocates who spoke with the AP say their work helps provide transparency because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rarely discloses information about flights. The monitoring also helps families locate relatives who are being deported.

Tom Cartwright began tracking ICE flights in 2020 and documented 1,214 deportation-related flights in July alone — the highest monthly total he has seen. Since the start of Trump’s second term, Cartwright reported 5,962 flights, a 41% increase from the same period last year. About 80% of those flights were operated by three carriers: GlobalX, Eastern Air Express, and Avelo Airlines.

Some flights transfer people to other U.S. airports before international departures, while others go directly to Central America or Mexico. A smaller number of military flights, many bound for Guantánamo Bay, were also recorded by Cartwright.

Due to the growing workload, Cartwright’s group, Witness at the Border, has recently transferred the responsibility of flight tracking to Human Rights First, which has launched a project called “ICE Flight Monitor.” The group’s leaders say the effort is meant to ensure public accountability.

Monitoring from Seattle

Seattle’s King County International Airport, also known as Boeing Field, is one of the few places where the public can observe deportation flights firsthand. County-installed cameras allow volunteers to watch buses arrive from ICE’s Tacoma detention center and to count passengers boarding or leaving planes.

King County began requiring cameras at the site in 2023 after officials failed in efforts to block ICE flights altogether. The county now publishes monthly statistics, and livestreams of deportation flights are available online to the public.

Local groups, such as La Resistencia, told the AP that they have tracked more than 60 flights in Washington state this year, surpassing last year’s totals. They estimate thousands of immigrants have been moved in and out of the region, often to border states or directly to Mexico and Central America.