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It has become a near-weekly ritual for Stan Shikuma. Every Tuesday at 10 a.m., an unmarked Airbus 320 lands at King County International Airport, also known as Boeing Field. The plane taxis over to the tarmac leased by Signature Aviation, a Fixed Base Operator (FBO) that provides services for chartered aircraft.

The plane is marshaled into its regular parking spot, right next to three white, unmarked buses. Inside the plane and on the buses are individuals detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These individuals are part of a secretive network of flights known as ICE Air.

“They don’t let us know beforehand, when they’re flying, where they’re flying, how many people they’re bringing in, how many people they’re taking out. So if we’re not sitting here watching, we have no idea” says Shikuma.

The flights are highly controversial.

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to assume office, his hardline immigration rhetoric and promises of sweeping deportations have reignited fears within immigrant communities and among advocacy groups. Trump鈥檚 pledges to target undocumented individuals have raised questions about the role of ICE, particularly its controversial use of flights to transfer and deport detainees.

Observers at Boeing Field count, detainees going on and off an Immigration and Customs Enforcement flight. They鈥檙e watching a closed circuit video feed looking for civil rights abuse.

鈥� Matt Markovich (@mattmarkovich)

ICE flights: Monitoring a secretive process

For the most part, these flights remain hidden from public view. While Shikuma is not allowed on the tarmac, he has access to a video feed from two closed-circuit cameras installed at the airport. These cameras stream to a conference room inside the terminal, allowing him to monitor the operations.

On a recent Tuesday in November, Shikuma was joined by colleague Margaret Sekijima and students from the University of Washington Center for Human Rights. The group watched the plane, which originated from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, as it landed and came to a stop. The plane belongs to the charter company GlobalX Airlines. The arriving detainees will be going to the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma run by the for-profit cooperation Geo Group.

“We want to keep an eye on ICE and GEO and Global Crossings to make sure that they don’t mistreat people, given that they’re being put on the plane in chains,” Shikuma said.

The group began counting detainees as they disembarked from the plane. They carefully documented the tail number of the aircraft and the number of detainees both arriving and departing. Their purpose was clear: to track the flights, observe the treatment of detainees, and ensure someone is paying attention. ICE does not disclose who is aboard these flights or the reasons for their detention, leaving it to observers like Shikuma and Sekijima to keep records and bear witness.

“I don’t think immigration procedure has improved at all under the current administration” says Margaret Sekijima, who along with Shikuma are members of the civil rights group Tsuru for Solidarity.

Both Shikuma and Sekijima are descendants of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. They say what they are seeing is a chilling comparison between the internment camps of the 1940s and modern-day detention centers like NWIPC.

“There (are) a lot of similarities or things that echo what happened to us,” Shikuma said.

Observers at Boeing Field count, detainees going on and off an Immigration and Customs Enforcement flight. They鈥檙e watching a closed circuit video feed looking for civil rights abuse.

鈥� Matt Markovich (@mattmarkovich)

Legal setbacks for King County on ICE flights

On Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected King County’s appeal to stop these flights altogether. The court ruled that the county overstepped its authority in 2019 when it attempted to halt the flights. This legal battle dates back several years and has its origins in local activism and legislative action.

In 2018, the University of Washington Center for Human Rights published a report using data from ICE’s Alien Repatriation Tracking System. The report revealed that nearly 500 ICE flights had used King County International Airport, effectively operating in and out of a self-declared 鈥渟anctuary鈥� city and state.

In response, King County Executive Dow Constantine issued an executive order in 2019 aimed at halting ICE operations at Boeing Field. Ground support companies like Clay Lacy Aviation complied, ceasing their work with ICE and leading to a temporary halt in deportation flights. However, ICE shifted its operations to Yakima, circumventing the county鈥檚 restrictions.

The legal battle continued, and in March 2023, a federal judge ruled against King County’s efforts to block ICE flights. This ruling cleared the way for flights to resume at Boeing Field in May 2023. Signature Aviation agreed to discreetly handle the flights, keeping them out of public view.

Activists, undeterred, lobbied for increased transparency, ultimately securing access to the observation room Shikuma and his colleagues now use.

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Unknown faces, unclear fates

In a statement to MyNorthwest, an ICE spokesperson explained that these flights are essential for transferring detainees between facilities across the country or deporting them to their home countries. The spokesperson emphasized that detainees on these flights are subject to federal guidelines, which prioritize individuals deemed public safety risks, flight risks, or those subject to mandatory detention.

However, critics argue that the flights lack transparency, cause undue hardship, and are emblematic of a profit-driven detention system.

Maru Mora Villalpando, executive director of the grassroots organization La Resistencia, highlighted the human toll of these operations. Based in the state of Washington, La Resistencia focuses on closing the NWIPC in Tacoma, one of the largest detention facilities in the United States.

“ICE makes this decision of shuffling people around, and they don’t feel like any obligation to tell anyone,” Villalpando said.

She noted families often struggle to locate loved ones who have been transferred between detention centers. ICE’s public database, she said, is frequently outdated or inaccurate, leaving families in the dark.

“There鈥檚 no clear explanation for why someone is moved or deported,” Villalpando said. “It’s devastating.”

She also pointed out logistical failures. Some detainees are flown to foreign countries only to be turned away due to incomplete travel documents, resulting in their return to detention. She cited a 2018 incident involving over 90 Somali detainees who endured inhumane conditions on a flight that was forced to return to the U.S. after being denied entry abroad.

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Profit at the heart of the system

Villalpando criticized private contractors like the GEO Group, which operates NWIPC, for perpetuating the detention system.

“It’s a business model,” she said, noting the millions of dollars that flow into surveillance tools and detention contracts.

The intersection of profit and policy, she argued, incentivizes stricter enforcement and prolonged detentions.

The NWIPC has one of the country鈥檚 lowest bond approval rates 鈥� just 3% 鈥� and the longest average periods of solitary confinement. Critics like Villalpando see these conditions as deliberate tactics to deter migration and intimidate detainees.

Legal and historical parallels

Matt Adams, legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, expressed skepticism about Trump’s promises of mass deportations. Adams argued that such actions are legally and logistically unfeasible. Many detainees, he explained, have pending applications, opportunities to regain legal status, or other protections.

“The idea of sweeping up millions of people is unworkable,” Adams said. “But even targeted actions can create widespread harm, separating families and destabilizing communities.”

Adams also highlighted systemic inefficiencies. Immigration courts face record backlogs, leaving detainees languishing in facilities for years. He called for resources to be redirected toward resolving cases rather than expanding detention operations.

“The legal system is already overloaded. I mean, if you look at the backlog in the immigration courts of Washington alone, we’re now at 51,000, it’s more than doubled in less than four years,” Adams said.

President-elect Trump has said he will launch the largest deportation in American history on his first day in office. Adams says, people should take Trump at his word.

“I mean, we learned from the first administration that we have to take those threats seriously and even the ones that blatantly violate the law,” Adams said.

Grassroots advocacy

On the day of observation, Shikuma counted 22 detainees boarding the flight to El Paso, a common final stop before crossing a land bridge into Mexico. Sixty-two detainees arrived to be housed at the Tacoma facility, marking the highest count since flights resumed in May 2023.

Villalpando emphasized the power of public pressure. She noted that a 2018 campaign successfully halted deportation flights for a time by targeting private contractors. Flights resumed in 2023, but Villalpando remains hopeful.

“Community resistance is our greatest weapon,” she said. “We’ve stopped deportation flights before, and we can do it again.”

King County has not said if it plans to appeal the recent Ninth Circuit decision to the US Supreme Court.

Matt Markovich often covers the state legislature and public policy for 成人X站 Newsradio. You can read more of Matt’s stories here. Follow him on , or email him here.