This ProPublica Exposé on ICE Repatriation Flights | Political News

The press makes use of many recognized techniques to border narratives, one of which entails the tales they select to cowl or resolve to not cowl. At ProPublica, we now have been delivered a variation on this method, one which entails timing. The outlet gives a compelling and exhaustive exploration of the ICE deportation flights, however there’s one situation in regards to the born-on date of their story.

Not a lot is thought about what’s concerned with and what transpires within these flights of unlawful immigrants to international nations, however ProPublica has come up with a bit of distinctive sourcing to study in regards to the particulars. The outlet performed interviews with a quantity of flight attendants from one constitution airline company used for these repatriation missions. There is far drama and darkish import woven all through their accounts.

The piece opens with a harrowing story of a youngster experiencing medical misery on a flight and so it needed to be rerouted to get her medical consideration. Other accounts contain a airplane crammed with prisoners in chains and how the usual job missions are altered for these flights. One situation they cite is that they’re unprepared for emergency situations. 

But the general narrative is that these people are handled in a much less than dignified fashion:

The flight attendants have been most involved about their incapability to deal with their passengers humanely — and to keep them secure. They anxious about what would occur in an emergency. Could they actually recover from a hundred chained passengers off the airplane in time? “They never taught us anything regarding the immigration flights,” one mentioned. “They didn’t tell us these people were going to be shackled, wrists to f***ing ankles.” “We have never gotten a clear answer on what we do in an ICE Air evacuation,” one other mentioned. “They will not give us an answer.”

Sounds dastardly, merciless, and unethical, and probably immoral! Their jobs entailed little more than securing the airplane to be prepared for the flights, after which they have been instructed to have no interactions with the passengers. No food service, no conversations, they usually have been forbidden to sit down close to them. Guards and handlers will do every part else, and people ICE staff would not have to comply with flight protocols as a result of instructing them to take action might result in a reprimand from the company. My, this administration sure looks as if a callous and crude operation.

One drawback. In all of the grave reporting there’s blithe point out of when this info was obtained. While President Trump is name-dropped and the controversies of these present flights are actually detailed, these worker testimonials have been organized and recorded… previous to Trump taking workplace.

THREAD: Last yr, ProPublica began receiving ideas from an uncommon sort of source: flight attendants.

They mentioned they’d labored on deportation flights for ICE, they usually might inform us what it was actually like on board. 1/

— ProPublica (@propublica) April 3, 2025

We are by no means given a more particular time body for these interviews, however even when that they had been performed after the November presidential election, the occasions described by these flight attendants would contain flights and actions taken by ICE during the Biden administration. And but, whilst President Trump is cited, neither Joe Biden’s title nor any direct reference to his administration seems anyplace on this very prolonged report.

There are lots of particulars all through that point out the procedures predate the present administration. An e-mail from an worker complaining about these flights was delivered final yr. The company they labored for – GlobalX – made reference to those ICE flights and what the workers do on them during an earnings telephone report in 2023. In one other part a quote from an ICE official concerning some of their protocols is from 2021. There is in reference to the controversial use of a specific restraint during flights, seen in a DHS report – that’s from 2024, concerning the use within the earlier yr.

Yet regardless of the timing of these interviews ProPublica by no means managed to situation this report till now? Even if there’s some type of rationalization made concerning the timing of publication, how do you converse to those staff in 2024 concerning what they skilled on flights that yr and people prior and by no means managed to reference these have been practices and insurance policies made during the Biden administration? 

This complete presentation is about utilizing prior examples to demean what’s going down beneath the new management. Nowhere on this report is there a cited element about what the present ICE flights are engaged in. It is a sham that each one the objectionable actions are offloaded onto the present administration.

This shows a well-worn media tactic. Let us harken back to the “kids in cages” canard, or the declare during his first time period that Trump had created “baby jails” for immigrant infants. These have been prices of inhuman administration techniques that have been in truth in follow from the Obama years. Now it’s the unacceptable protocols on ICE flights during the Biden years – and we’re to consider they’re all President Trump’s fault.

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie.  

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