Washington (October 30, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today joined Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in pressing the Trump Administration for answers regarding its use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Air Operations (IAO) as part of its mass deportation agenda. In their letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, the Senators raised concerns with the "near-total secrecy" under which IAO operates in light of a series of troubling immigration enforcement actions that this Administration has taken – pointing to examples and credible reports of violations of detainees’ rights and inhumane treatment while in ICE custody. They pressed Secretary Noem and acting Director Lyons for responses to a series of questions in the interest of providing much-needed transparency for Congress and the American public on these issues, including around the costs of operations, treatment of deportees, fleet and operations, carriers and contracting, flight data and destinations, and voluntary returns.

"We write to express our concerns regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Air Operations’ (IAO) severe lack of transparency. IAO has been at the center of troubling actions ICE has taken under this administration but provides no public data on its operations," the Senators began.

"IAO has been centrally involved in facilitating several concerning immigration enforcement actions under the second Trump Administration," they wrote, pointing to the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the relocation of university student Rumeysa Ozturk before a judge could rule on her case, and the attempted deportation of unaccompanied minors to Guatemala without due process. "These cases paint a troubling picture of IAO attempting to shortcut due process rights and avoid or defy judicial authority.

"IAO operates in near-total secrecy. ICE does not provide any publicly accessible data on its flights, destinations, costs to taxpayers, or passengers," they continued. "The ICE Flight Monitor August 2025 report finds that flight volume is also trending upward, as the number of IAO flights has steadily increased throughout the year, with the months of May through August reaching higher figures than ever previously recorded."

"Additionally, the conditions on board IAO flights have been described as ‘dehumanizing’ and even ‘dangerous,'" they added. "A recent lawsuit alleges that ICE put several detainees on a military cargo plane wearing straitjackets for 16 hours and did not tell them where they were going. […] Detainees have reportedly made hundreds of allegations of verbal, physical, and even sexual abuse by IAO personnel since 2010. In addition, numerous public accounts report medical emergencies and systemic limitations on access to critical care on board deportation flights. These reported conditions raise serious human rights concerns."

"Given the complete opacity of IAO, the troubling actions the division has taken under this Administration, and the impending escalation of activities as ICE implements its newly-inflated budget and requests ever-more resources from Congress, ICE must provide greater transparency," they concluded, going on to list a series of questions for response by Secretary Noem and acting Director Lyons regarding the costs of operations, treatment of deportees, fleet and operations, carriers and contracting, flight data and destinations, and voluntary returns.

The letter text, including the questions that the Senators pose to the Administration officials, can be viewed here and below.