New Report Finds Record Number of U.S. Immigration Enforcement Flights in August Under Trump Administration

“These numbers are absolutely staggering and deeply concerning in light of their connection to the increased arrests, detentions, and removals of people in our communities,” said Savi Arvey, Director of Research and Analysis, Refugee Protection at Human Rights First. “Behind every flight are families torn apart, people disappeared without due process, and human rights violated on an industrial scale. The Trump administration’s deportation campaign is unprecedented in scope and cruelty and is a clear attack on due process, the rule of law, and overall transparency of our immigration system.”

Human Rights First President and CEO Uzra Zeya added, “In the face of escalating harms perpetrated against immigrants throughout the United States, ICE Flight Monitor is an essential tool for transparency and holding our government to account. U.S. democracy is strengthened when Americans know where their tax dollars are going – in this case, a mushrooming deportation machine fueled by an unprecedented $170 billion cash infusion to DHS and its components. We need Congress and the courts to rein in this anti-democratic enforcement overreach.” 

Additional key findings in the August report, include: 

• Increase in Removal Flights: At least 240 removal flights took place in August 2025, driven largely by an increase in flights to Mexico. The Trump administration has now carried out at least 1,279 removal flights since returning to office—20 percent more than during the same period last year.
  
• New Destinations and Increased Multi-Country Flights: The Trump administration has sent removal flights to at least 66 countries, including first-time flights to Greece, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. It also expanded multi-country flights, where people remain shackled for days across multiple stops.
  
• Third Country Transfers: In August, ICE Flight Monitor tracked the first deportation flight to Rwanda under a newly established U.S.–Rwanda agreement, part of a broader expansion of third-country removals.
  
• Increased Domestic Transfer Flights: The administration conducted at least 805 domestic detention transfer flights in August 2025 alone, including 81 flights to offshore detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, where individuals are held in isolated detention facilities on the military base.

The report warns that these practices, many of which federal courts have already deemed unlawful, not only endanger vulnerable people but also erode democratic accountability. 

The full report, ICE Flight Monitor: August 2025 Monthly Update, is available here. 

To speak with Arvey please contact press@humanrightsfirst.org. 

As of August 2025, ICE Flight Monitor is officially housed at HRF. The project will release monthly reports featuring findings from ongoing flight tracking efforts. The project was developed and led by retired financial executive and immigration advocate Tom Cartwright for nearly six years.