Overview
- Family members and advocates say ICE prepared possible deportation flights the week of Oct. 21 for detainees held at Krome and Broward, with two flights reportedly eyed for Oct. 22–23 and the Central African Republic and Burundi identified as possible destinations.
- Advocates and an immigration attorney say some people targeted for the moves include detainees with serious illnesses, notably Noslén Sendra who families say has uncontrolled diabetes and severe pancreatitis and whose relatives say Mexico and Cuba refused him.
- Human Rights Watch found 536 U.S. removals to African countries that did not match deportees’ origins between Jan. 20, 2025 and Aug. 5, 2026 and documented accounts of shackling, long transfers and mistreatment during past third‑country flights.
- The practice faces legal contest: a federal appeals court ruled the DHS policy unlawful in September but the U.S. Supreme Court stayed that decision on Sept. 29, allowing deportations to proceed while it considers the case in December.
- Reporting shows broader enforcement pressure inside ICE, with increases in arrests for minor infractions, a reported internal target to raise daily arrests, and confirmed operations such as a DHS‑verified ICE sweep in Rochester on Oct. 23 that resulted in three arrests.