Record Number of U.S. Immigration Enforcement Flights Underscores Growing Human Cost of Trump Administration’s Immigration Crackdown

Washington, D.C. — A new report released today by ICE Flight Monitor, housed at Human Rights First, exposes the human toll of the Trump administration’s deportation campaign. In September 2025 the project tracked 1,470 immigration enforcement flights—the highest monthly total since 2020—carrying thousands of people who may have been denied due process to countries where they could face severe violence, separation from family, or life-threatening conditions.

There have been nearly 8,900 deportation and transfer flights conducted since President Trump’s inauguration in January — a 62 percent increase compared to the same period last year. 

“Each of these flights represents lives uprooted and families torn apart,” said Savi Arvey, Director of Research and Analysis, Refugee Protection at Human Rights First. “People aboard these flights are routinely shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles, many times for journeys lasting over 40 hours with multiple layovers and fuel stops. This month included the first deportation flight to Iran, where Iranian nationals, including people who had attempted to seek asylum in the United States, were removed by ICE to Qatar and then transferred to Iranian government custody. Individuals are also being sent to third countries they’ve never lived in, on flights that the U.S. government refuses to publicly acknowledge. What this data shows is a system attempting to operate with impunity, that treats human lives as expendable. ICE Flight Monitor will continue our efforts to bring as much transparency to the ICE flight paradigm as possible.” 

Drawing on open-source aviation data and cross-referenced public records, the report details an alarming escalation of immigration enforcement tactics that include the use of military aircraft, offshore detention facilities, and third-country transfers that violate international law.

Key Findings

• From January 20 to September 30, 2025, the Trump administration conducted at least 8,894 immigration enforcement flights, including deportations, removal-related flights, and domestic transfer (“shuffle”) flights.
• September 2025 saw 1,470 deportation flights, the highest monthly total ever recorded, with an average of 49 flights per day.
• The administration carried out 5,322 domestic transfer flights, a 47 percent increase from the same period in 2024, reflecting an aggressive expansion of interior enforcement and detention.
• In September, the Trump administration conducted removal flights to 48 countries, the highest number of countries in a single month, including record flights to Honduras, Nicaragua, and Sub-Saharan Africa, and the first recorded flight to Iran via transfer in Qatar.
• In September, ICE Flight Monitor tracked the first third country forced transfer flight  to Ghana. Forced third country transfers send people to countries where they are not citizens—a practice that legal experts say violates U.S. and international law. Prior third country flights had been tracked to Rwanda, Eswatini,  South Sudan, Uzbekistan, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama.
• After months of secretive transfers to offshore detention at the US Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay through at least 87 total flights since February, no migrants or asylum seekers remained detained there as of October 1, 2025.
  
  

The full report is available here. 

About ICE Flight Monitor

ICE Flight Monitor uses publicly available aviation data to track U.S. immigration enforcement flights operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and partner agencies. Founded on the methodology pioneered by researcher Tom Cartwright, the project provides transparent, data-driven reporting to strengthen accountability and inform the public about the human and democratic costs of mass deportation policies.