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May 20 was a big day for ICE Air. 1) Start of the record surge in removal flights that continues to this day. 2) That plane with eight migrants bound for South Sudan took off from Harlingen. And 3) /

And 3) Aircraft Transport Service began using ICE Air's callsign, TYSON, announcing to the world what it had previously kept under the radar: that it is a primary contractor for ICE's "special high-risk" removals on private jets. It operated two flights from Mesa, AZ, to Nouakchott, Mauritania.

I've gone through all of the ATS fleet's flight data for the calendar year. First, I spotted the flight most likely to have carried Omar Abdulsattar across the Atlantic as he was being removed to Rwanda, first reported by @marisakabas.bsky.social.

Second, there was a big surge in ATS's ICE flights from the same time last year, nearly double. And there's a lot of overlap between countries ATS landed in and the list of countries NYT reported as Trump's third-country removal targets. hardghistory.ghost.io/exclusive-ic...

These private jet flights stopped suddenly on July 4, the day after SCOTUS gave Trump the green light for third-country removals. Since then, a jumbo jet at least four large military aircraft have conducted ICE removals in Africa. hardghistory.ghost.io/exclusive-ic...

hardghistory.ghost.ioNEW: ICE’s Eswatini flight went through US base in Djibouti; Americans stationed there are angryDetails of how the five men got to Eswatini have not been previously reported.

Please also read this story I did with @alexplank.bsky.social from a few days ago. And please subscribe to hardghistory.ghost.io 🙏 hardghistory.ghost.io/new-ices-esw...

22 July 2025

I have a longer explanation at the bottom of the story but…I tried to freelance these and couldn’t find an outlet. Most just didn’t respond, but some said they can’t work with me because I tried to stop the South Sudan flight, and they can’t publish “activist” journalism. What I’m saying is.