ICE continues to deport single adults and families to Cuba, Jamaica

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Friday that it is continuing to conduct deportation operations, including flights to return single adults and families to Cuba and Jamaica. These deportations will take place between August 26 and August 30 and are coordinated with other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The evacuation flights also included citizens from other countries, including Brazil, Cameroon, Central American countries, Colombia, Ecuador, Liberia and Mexico.

ICE stressed its commitment to enforcing immigration laws, saying, “If noncitizens arrive in the United States and do not have a lawful basis to remain in the country, we will expeditiously process and remove them in accordance with U.S. law.”

In the year following the end of Public Health Order 42 (from May 12, 2023 to May 12, 2024), DHS reported that more than 742,000 people were expelled or removed, most of whom crossed the southwest border. This included more than 111,000 family members. ICE noted that the total number of expulsions and removals during this period exceeded the total number of expulsions and removals in any full fiscal year since 2010.

ICE said that since the president announced a temporary ban on the entry of certain aliens to the southern border and the release of the joint interim final rule by DHS and the U.S. Department of Justice 12 weeks ago, DHS has removed more than 92,000 people to more than 130 countries on more than 300 international removal flights.

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ICE reiterated its adherence to legal procedures, stating: “The United States ensures that all aliens who do not have lawful reason to remain in the United States receive appropriate scrutiny to establish valid claims for protection and prevent removal consistent with our laws and the United States’ international obligations.” The agency stressed that this applies to all aliens, regardless of nationality, ensuring the orderly and humane processing, transfer, and removal of single adults and family units. Aliens placed in removal proceedings can file a claim for relief or protection before an immigration judge in a court administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

For operational security reasons, ICE does not disclose details of future or upcoming transport operations.

In FY 2023, ICE reported that its air operations facilitated the transfer and removal of noncitizens (including family units) via commercial airlines and charter flights. ICE’s enforcement and removal operations conducted 142,580 removals and 62,545 Title 42 deportations in more than 170 countries around the world.