WASHINGTON — In the past week, the Department of Homeland Security, in collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), executed numerous removal flights, transporting both individual adults and family units to countries such as Venezuela, Central America, Brazil, Colombia, India, and Peru. Over the last two weeks, more than thirty repatriation flights have been conducted, returning thousands to their respective countries, with over five thousand individuals directly repatriated to Mexico.
Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristie Canegallo, emphasized that despite the Biden-Harris Administration’s significant expansion of lawful pathways, consequences, including removal to their home country, await those who do not utilize these lawful channels. The resumption of removal flights to Venezuela in October contributed to a 65% decrease in Venezuelan encounters observed by CBP in the second half of October.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Executive Associate Director, Corey Price, reiterated that migrants crossing the border unlawfully without pursuing lawful pathways face consequences under U.S. law. The U.S. will continue to repatriate noncitizens without a legal basis to stay in the country.
Noncitizens lacking a lawful basis to remain in the United States will be removed, adhering to U.S. law. The United States ensures that all noncitizens, including Venezuelans, are screened for valid protection claims and withholding of removal, aligning with laws and international obligations. This process is applied universally, irrespective of nationality, to ensure the organized and humane processing, transfer, and removal of both individual adults and family units.
Noncitizens in removal proceedings present their claims for relief or protection before immigration judges in the immigration courts administered by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. ICE, for operational security reasons, refrains from confirming or discussing future or pending transportation operations.
ICE Air Operations plays a crucial role in the transfer and removal of noncitizens, including family units, leveraging commercial airlines and chartered flights to support ICE field offices and other DHS initiatives. In fiscal year 2022, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted 72,177 removals to more than 150 countries worldwide.
For additional visual resources, including b-roll footage of removal flights, a public service announcement, and testimonials from removed migrants, the Department of Homeland Security has made content available on DVIDS and other platforms.
Source: DHS
