New ICE Flight Monitor Report Shows Immigration Enforcement Flights Reach Record High in March 2026 Amid Ongoing Third Country Transfers
Washington, D.C. — In March 2026, overall U.S. immigration enforcement flights reached a record high of 1,794, a 122% increase over March 2025, according to Human Rights First’s latest ICE Flight Monitor report. The findings reveal a continued escalation in the Trump administration’s mass detention and deportation campaign, including the expansion of the ICE Air charter plane network and the use of forced third-country transfers to new destinations. Read the full report here.
“People are being shuffled between detention centers away from their loved ones and legal counsel, deported to countries where they face danger, or sent to places where they have no connection, all without transparency or due process,” said Savi Arvey, Director of Research and Analysis for Refugee Protection at Human Rights First. “ICE Flight Monitor exists to shed light on a system that relies on secrecy. Our data provides the transparency that has been otherwise denied to the public.”
In March, ICE Flight Monitor documented 225 removal flights to 46 countries. Domestic“shuffle” flights remain at historically high levels, totaling 1,225 in March 2026—a 147% increase from March 2025. This spike was enabled by the 54 district charter planes in use daily — a 130% increase from the 23 used one year ago.
Key findings from March 2026 include:
March saw 225 removal flights to 46 countries as part of the Trump administration’s escalating mass deportation campaign. This marks a 23% increase from the 183 flights in February and a 48% increase in removal destinations from the previous month. March saw first-time removal flights to Moldova, Myanmar, and Thailand, as well as resumed removal flights to Tajikistan, Belize, Togo, and Trinidad and Tobago. Guatemala and Honduras remain the top removal countries, accounting for 41 percent of all removal flights.
Record immigration enforcement flights despite the government shutdown impacting DHS. Total flights reached 1,794 in March, a 122% increase over last year. This surge included 225 removal flights and 1,225 shuffle flights, supported by an expanding network of ICE Air Operations. Notably, removal-related flights increased as fuel stops jumped 46% from last month, utilizing international destinations from Curacao and Senegal to Ireland and Bulgaria to facilitate Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Expanded forced third-country transfers of individuals to countries where they are not citizens, with first-time flights to Moldova and Uganda, and continued flights to Eswatini, Poland, and Uzbekistan. The administration also continues to send non-Ecuadorans to Ecuador and non-Hondurans to Honduras under the Asylum Cooperative Agreements. For more information on third country agreements, visit Third Country Deportation Watch.
CSI Aviation Began Conducting ICE Air Flights Using Its Own Aircraft. CSI Aviation expanded the ICE Air network with four of its own 19-passenger aircraft to conduct small-scale domestic shuffle flights. In March alone, these planes conducted 121 shuffle flights, primarily to detention centers in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Alabama. This expansion has added over 460 flights across eight U.S. cities since December 2025.
Read the report here.
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About ICE Flight Monitor
ICE Flight Monitor uses publicly available aviation data to track U.S. immigration enforcement flights operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and partner agencies. The project provides transparent, data-driven reporting to strengthen accountability and expose the human costs of mass deportation.
