ICE Deportation Flight Watch
“Habeas corpus petitions, which allow people to challenge their detention in court, are one of the oldest legal proceedings and have become a key weapon against Trump’s ICE. But they can be difficult to file when attorneys don’t know where their clients are and are forced to rely on dishonest and vague officials for information.
When habeas is filed in a federal district where a migrant physically is at that moment, they cannot be removed from that district without a hearing. Consequently, ICE often races to get newly captured migrants to its nexus of detention centers in southern states, where they will have to get new attorneys and face harsher courts. Crucially, jurisdiction does not change until a plane lands at its destination, meaning if an attorney knows what plane her client is on and can prove she filed before it landed, ICE has to fly them back the district, keeping them closer to their family, their legal team, and fairer judges.” -Gillian Brockell
Habeus Flight Watch is an effort by activists to track deportees when they are being shuffled around to avoid the legal system is sometimes the only way people can find out if their family member is safe. We are looking for volunteers to join us in documenting these flights. The more people we have, the better. They know they’re being observed, and they frequently move around to avoid our sight. With more volunteers, we can stage “birders” at multiple locations and document the actual transferring of deportees so that we can report the numbers to the national group.
Please remain 4 feet away from any airport gates at all times, do not trespass on private property, and take precautions for being in the heat for up to 2 hours.
If you are an aviation enthusiast or a photographer, your skills can be vital here! Oftentimes, we are trying to capture photos from 2-3 runways away. We have a bridge camera with 60x zoom, but we only have one, so any additional resources are welcome. If you only have a phone camera, that’s okay as well, we can position you in one of the closer areas.
Resources:
https://youtu.be/2_OZ2677W2I?si=LZAZd4Vou9ziyDRf
https://www.universalhub.com/2026/lexington-group-helps-build-national-ice-flight-tracker
Please note that the flight times may vary. Once you sign up, we will add you to the Signal chat that will alert you to the information about the flight departure time. Typically, flights arrive between 12pm-2pm, but the time can vary. We get notified when the flight departs it’s origin, which usually gives us an hour to get to the airport.