When she's not busying painting the border wall black, it looks like Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem could be making plans for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to own and operate its own fleet of airplanes in order to expedite deportations. The idea makes so much sense that even a Biden administration official thinks it's a good idea.
A report popped up Wednesday that Noem was looking to use an influx of cash into ICE, courtesy of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), to equip the agency with the equivalent of its own airline that can be at the ready for deportation flights. Right now, ICE relies on charter planes to get the job done.
ICE uses charter planes to deport immigrants and has done so for years. The agency has typically chartered eight to 14 planes at a time for deportation flights, according to Jason Houser, who served as ICE chief of staff from 2022 to 2023. He said that allowed the Biden administration to deport roughly 15,000 immigrants per month on charter flights.
The Trump administration had previously set a goal of deporting 1 million illegals every year. To achieve that, it would take a more significant investment in resources in order to streamline the process. Houser, who worked at ICE under Biden, estimated they would need to double the current practice of using eight to 14 planes at a time, saying, “If the goal is to get to 30 to 35,000 removals a month, you would need to double the number of planes."
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The cost of acquiring a fleet of airplanes would undoubtedly be costly. The Pilot Institute estimates it can cost anywhere between $80 million and $400 million to buy a commercial airliner; purchasing in bulk could lower the per plane cost, but it's still a substantial investment—likely well into the billions. Luckily, the OBBB just allocated ICE billions of dollars to ramp up its operations and hire additional agents, but it's unclear if there's enough in the kitty to cover the costs of airplanes.
READ MORE: Big Beautiful Bill Spawns Big Beautiful ICE Recruiting Drive
Incidentally, it looks like ICE may have urgent need of these airplanes. The Trump administration announced Thursday that it was reviewing the records of more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid U.S. visas. Depending on what officials find, visas may permanently be revoked and those individuals will face deportation.
In a written answer to a question posed by The Associated Press, the department said that all U.S. visa holders are subject to “continuous vetting” with an eye toward any indication that they could be ineligible for the document.
Should such information be found, the visa will be revoked and, if the visa holder is in the United States, he or she would be subject to deportation.
Some folks are already calling it Adios Airlines, but ICE Air also has a nice ring to it. Drop your suggestions in the comments.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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