{"id":261079,"date":"2025-10-30T16:14:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T16:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/261079\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T16:14:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T16:14:13","slug":"senators-demand-answers-on-secrecy-and-alleged-abuse-in-deportation-flights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/261079\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators demand answers on secrecy and alleged abuse in deportation flights"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A \u201cnear-total secrecy\u201d surrounding deportation flights and the use of full-body restraints onboard<\/a> is raising \u201cserious human rights concerns,\u201d a group of 11 Democratic U.S. senators wrote in a letter Thursday to top immigration officials.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called upon U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide a full accounting of its air operations and to stop using the black and yellow restraints known as the WRAP until the agency explains its policies for the device and resolves other questions about its use on immigration detainees. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very problematic,\u201d Van Hollen told The Associated Press. \u201cThey want to keep the public in the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

The senators\u2019 letter cites an AP investigation<\/a> this month that revealed several examples of ICE using the device on people \u2014 sometimes for hours \u2014 on deportation flights dating to 2020. Van Hollen was joined by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Alex Padilla of California, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and six others.<\/p>\n

The WRAP is the subject of several federal lawsuits likening incorrect usage of the device to punishment and even torture. Advocates have expressed concern that ICE is not tracking the WRAP\u2019s use as required by federal law when officers use force, making it difficult to discern exactly how many people are being subjected to the restraints.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen an organization like DHS doesn\u2019t want transparency, it\u2019s because they don\u2019t want people to know what they\u2019re doing,\u201d Van Hollen said, referring to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE\u2019s parent agency.<\/p>\n

In addition to the letter, U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., told AP in a statement that she is working on a bill to rein in the agency\u2019s use of the WRAP. <\/p>\n

\u201cICE\u2019s use of full-body restraints to immobilize detained individuals raises serious concerns about the safety, dignity, and human rights of those under their jurisdiction,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

DHS has not answered detailed questions from the AP about the use of the WRAP. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin previously said that ICE\u2019s practices \u201calign with those followed by other relevant authorities and is fully in line with established legal standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AP found that DHS has paid the manufacturer of the WRAP, Safe Restraints Inc., $268,523 since it started purchasing the devices in late 2015, during the Obama administration. Government purchasing records show the two Trump administrations have been responsible for about 91% of that spending. <\/p>\n

ICE would not provide AP with records documenting its use of the WRAP despite multiple requests, and it\u2019s not clear how frequently it has been used in the current and prior administrations.<\/p>\n

In addition to reporting on ICE\u2019s use of the device, the AP identified a dozen fatal cases in the last decade where local police or jailers around the U.S. used the WRAP and autopsies determined \u201crestraint\u201d played a role in the death.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe brutal, inhumane tactics of ICE continue to jeopardize people\u2019s lives across the country,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cICE is acting outside of oversight or accountability. That can\u2019t go on.\u201d <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Mustian reported from Washington and New York and Dearen reported from Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Contact AP\u2019s global investigative team at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> or https:\/\/www.ap.org\/tips\/<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A \u201cnear-total secrecy\u201d surrounding deportation flights and the use of full-body restraints onboard is raising…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1926,140884,23,17571,2724,8833,2356,31673,37003,3505,12,11733,793,3075,5630,5629,790,8640,2001,8641,1997,2005,3,111,3766,84191,3767,6148,795,21,19,22,20,25,24,800,965],"class_list":["post-261079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-africa","tag-alex-padilla","tag-america","tag-ap-investigations","tag-associated-press","tag-barack-obama","tag-california","tag-chris-van-hollen","tag-cory-booker","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-donald-trump","tag-elizabeth-warren","tag-general-news","tag-human-rights","tag-il-state-wire","tag-illinois","tag-immigration","tag-maryland","tag-massachusetts","tag-md-state-wire","tag-new-jersey","tag-new-york","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-race-and-ethnicity","tag-tammy-duckworth","tag-tricia-mclaughlin","tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}