Trump’s African deportation operation runs through an Arizona airport

Arizona, and specifically Mesa Gateway Airport, play a crucial role in ICE’s ramping up aerial deportation efforts. The airport hosts the agency’s headquarters for its “ICE Air” operations, which uses subcontractors and subleases to disguise deportation aircraft.

And those aircraft are very well disguised.

The 16-seat jet that has been making regular visits to Africa from Mesa does its best to hide its true ownership, and even participates in a Federal Aviation Administration program that allows the public data shared about it to be limited, preventing it from being tracked on certain flight tracking sites.

The Arizona Mirror was able to identify a handful of people connected to the aircraft through records requests, but attempts to speak with them were unsuccessful. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that the aircraft is being used for removal flights in a statement to the Mirror. 

Avelo Airlines, which serves Wilmington Airport, came under fire earlier this locating three of its jets at Mesa Gateway Airport under a contract with ICE Air. It led to protests at many of its destinations and the governor of Delaware stating that  he ruled out a trip to Puerto Rico on the small airline.

“The removal of illegal aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States is a core responsibility of ICE and is regularly carried out by ICE Air Operations,” an ICE spokesperson said in response to the Mirror’s questions. “For operational security, ICE does not release information about removal flights prior to them occurring.”

ICE’s Air Operations are based out of Mesa and Mesa Gateway Airport is where the agency coordinates to send immigrants across the country to various detention facilities and around the world. 

“ICE Air Charter Operations may modify flight routes and schedules as necessary to meet operational requirements,” the ICE statement to the Mirror said. “Removal missions are regularly conducted to different countries around the world.”

So, what do we know about the aircraft that has been making regular trips to multiple African countries from Mesa Gateway?

From Hard Rock Hotel to Africa

According to FAA records the Mirror obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the jet was brought to the United States from Mexico in the early 1990s, when it was purchased by the Gulfstream company, who manufactured the aircraft. In the decades since, it has been sold and resold a number of times.

Among its owners over the years have been Coca-Cola Enterprises and the Hard Rock Hotel, before it entered the charter business. It was once a charter plane that carried U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders around the country during his 2020 presidential campaign. 

The charter business has become a big player in the deportation industry.

Those contracts to conduct deportation flights are lucrative, with the Project on Government Oversight reporting that CSI Aviation, whose corporate director was a “fake elector” in New Mexico for Trump, was awarded a no-bid contract for $128 million. 

CSI Aviation mostly uses subcontractors to conduct many of its flights, with companies like GlobalX doing the vast majority of the work.

The jet the Mirror obtained records for says it is registered to a company called “Jet Black Aviation Group LLC” based out of Texas. Attempts to reach the person registered for the Texas-based company went unreturned and the aircraft was observed taxiing to a hangar that is frequently used by CSI Aviation aircraft.

CSI Aviation did not respond to questions about whether the aircraft belongs to them, a subcontractor or the United States government.

In a further attempt to understand the true ownership of the aircraft, the Mirror tried to determine what company holds the Part 135 certificate, which grants the air carrier the ability to move cargo and do other services, and is often required by the FAA for certain charter work. 

But the database is “several months” out of date, according to a representative for the company listed as holding the Part 135 certificate for the jet who said they no longer held the jet’s certificate.

The Trump administration’s cutbacks under the Department of Government Efficiency have hit the FAA particularly hard, and the agency had already been chronically understaffed prior to the cuts. It is unclear how those cuts may be impacting the Part 135 database.

An FAA spokesperson provided the Mirror with the owner of the certificate and said that the database is updated monthly and the next update will have the updated information on the aircraft, but did not respond to follow up questions asking why the database had been out of date for “several months.”

The owner of that certificate led to a company called Aircraft Transport Service, which on its own site lists “repatriation service flights for U.S. Customs and Border Protection” as one of its services.  

The company has gotten $15 million in federal dollars in the last 12 months, with $14.66 million of that coming from ICE for “nonscheduled chartered passenger air transportation.”

The aircraft was first spotted flying to Africa after leaving Arizona by Bluesky user JJ in DC, who has been tracking the aircraft for months.

Since Aug. 6, the jet has been making trips to Africa, often stopping in Puerto Rico before heading there.

On its Aug. 6 flight, it landed at an airport in Senegal before departing to an airport in Ivory Coast and then landing in Burkina Faso before returning to Senegal. The aircraft made a similar journey again just a few days later on Aug. 9, this time landing in Ghana, as well.

The flights to Africa by the Trump administration have generated controversy. Lawsuits have alleged that, on some of the 16-hour flights, detainees were put in straightjackets and given minimal food or water.

In its statement to the Mirror, ICE said the agency is “committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety and transparency in its aviation operations” in response to the Mirror’s questions about safety aboard flights, especially those conducted by contractors. 

“The agency follows detailed procedures and policies for flight operations, ensuring full compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements,” the unnamed ICE spokesperson said. “These efforts reflect ICE’s dedication to operating safely and responsibly while adhering to all applicable laws.”

Reports have also surfaced that the administration has sent some individuals to prisons in Africa despite their home countries being willing to take them back, according to Axios.

Some of the African countries that have begun accepting deportations have also agreed to monetary payments for the deal. The country of Eswatini will receive $5.1 million for 160 deportees and Rwanda will get $7.5 million for 250 deportees.

The Trump administration has said that it plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is originally from El Salvador, to Eswatini.

But this aircraft isn’t even the only one that has been spotted leaving Mesa Gateway for Africa in recent months. Other aircraft the Mirror was able to determine that belong to Aircraft Transport Service flew missions to the same countries as far back as June. Online researchers also took note of the aircraft.

And ICE has recently been using military flights to conduct its operations to Africa, though it doesn’t appear any military deportation flights have originated from Mesa Gateway Airport.

The airport is also home to a lesser-known detention facility. 

The Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center, or AROCC for short, is a 25,000-square-foot facility at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. It opened in 2010 to little fanfare and can house up to 157 detainees and 79 employees from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to an ICE press release from 2010.

Arizona Mirror is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com.