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demmiblue

(38,760 posts)
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 12:03 PM Sunday

ICE IS DEPORTING PEOPLE TO AFRICA ON NEARLY UN-TRACKABLE MILITARY FLIGHTS

Source: Rolling Stone

Two American military cargo jets deported people to Africa this month on flights that appear to have had their transponders turned off, obscuring their locations from public flight databases and other nearby aircraft.

One of the jets was later identified in a lawsuit in U.S. federal court as carrying 14 Nigerian and Gambian nationals to a prison camp in Ghana. They have since been returned to their countries of origin, Ghana said, despite all having credible fears of persecution or torture. The other jet secretly landed in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mali, according to communications from the flight deck obtained by Rolling Stone. Representatives for the governments of these countries did not respond to emails asking if this jet also included third-country nationals.

The secret flights are part of what appears to be a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity across the African continent, following a pressure campaign led by President Donald Trump on many of the governments there over the summer.

“The administration is using military secrecy to cover for what is basically a law enforcement/immigration enforcement function,” an activist flight tracker who goes by JJ in DC told Rolling Stone. “If this is being done in our interest, we have a right to know where these deportation flights are going.”

Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/ice-deporting-africa-military-flights-1235431848/



NEW: Air Force jets are doing ICE flights to Africa with transponders turned off, making them nearly un-trackable.

This includes the third-country removal to Ghana and another secret flight. We figured out where it landed.

From me for @rollingstone.com:

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Gillian Brockell (@gbrockell.bsky.social) 2025-09-21T13:10:30.842Z
17 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

bluestarone

(20,353 posts)
2. No good dirty bastards
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 12:14 PM
Sunday

Our military is gone!! Edit to add, ICE leaders need to be charged in court. I know it's not gonna happen, but someone needs to go to jail. If not they will do this shit forever.

Irish_Dem

(75,282 posts)
4. The USAF pilots know what they are doing is wrong.
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 12:26 PM
Sunday

Or they wouldn't turn off their trackers.

WestMichRad

(2,649 posts)
11. Not sure that the pilots can be blamed for that.
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 05:12 PM
Sunday

Seems to me pretty likely they are being ordered to switch off the trackers.

Irish_Dem

(75,282 posts)
12. Pilots are not stupid. They know why they are being told to turn
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 05:14 PM
Sunday

off their trackers as they fly to murder people on a boat.

WestMichRad

(2,649 posts)
13. Agreed.
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 05:17 PM
Sunday

And “following orders” doesn’t absolve them from culpability, if what is occurring is ultimately deemed to be a criminal violation.

Irish_Dem

(75,282 posts)
14. And they know Hegseth will throw them under the bus in a heartbeat.
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 05:34 PM
Sunday

Or send them into an orchestrated ambush.

I suspect some USAF crews will be thinking about leaving the service.

Withywindle

(9,989 posts)
17. "Just following orders"
Mon Sep 22, 2025, 01:42 AM
Monday

that didn't fly at Nuremberg and it shouldn't fly now (no pun intended)

People need to start refusing to obey orders.

James48

(4,955 posts)
5. Costs per flight hour
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 12:41 PM
Sunday

Costs to operate a Military C-17 Globemaster is about $28,000 per flight hour.

The costs to operate a Boeing 737-800 series aircraft is about $5,0000- $6,000 per flight hour.

Once more, there is your fraud, waste and abuse.

Bayard

(27,120 posts)
6. They were disappeared,
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 12:42 PM
Sunday

To nasty, overcrowded prisons, to be forwarded on to their home countries they had protection from in our country.

"Who had all been granted protections from removal to their countries of origin for fear of persecution or torture. They were loaded onto the cargo jet in the middle of the night with no advance warning, they alleged, and were only told where they were going when the plane was in the air. One Nigerian man said that after he asked to speak to his lawyers, he was “straitjacketed for several hours.”

USA! USA! USA!

hadEnuf

(3,408 posts)
8. This will transfer to American citizens who don't like Trump eventually.
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 01:47 PM
Sunday

Perhaps not to foreign soil, but disappearances never the less. Trump and Miller are already setting up the groundwork for this with accusations of "terrorist left-wing organizations". They have the media, the police and the military. Another shooting or two and they will pounce. Doesn't matter who does it.
I'm concerned only a nationwide "revolt" of sorts will start the demise of this dictatorship, but things just haven't gotten overall bad enough yet. And yes, it seems there will be some blood, most likely from Trump supporters. But they can be handled if we have the guts to stand against them. We also need to work against these traitors on the inside whenever possible.

Clearly, Trump wants to be Putin.

I really hope I am wrong about most of this.

intheflow

(29,737 posts)
9. And we wonder how they "lost" so many Alligator Alcatraz people.
Sun Sep 21, 2025, 01:58 PM
Sunday

I’m guessing at least some of them were on those planes.

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