ICE Considers Setting Up Its Own Airline

Agency is looking to ramp up deportations.

Zach Vasile

Tuesday, August 26, 2025 at 07:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act puts aside $75 billion for ICE, which the agency could use to set up its own airline. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE are reportedly considering establishing their own airline exclusively for deporting immigrants.
This initiative, championed by Kristi Noem, aims to significantly increase deportation capacity by using a large influx of new federal funding to acquire and operate a dedicated fleet, moving away from reliance on private contractors.
However, launching such an airline would introduce substantial new expenses for aircraft maintenance and hiring extensive staff, and it would likely take considerable time to become fully operational at the desired scale.

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Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are reportedly considering setting up a new airline for the sole purpose of deporting immigrants from the country.

According to NBC News, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wants ICE to use an influx of federal dollars to buy and operate its own aircraft for deportation flights. Sources who spoke to the news outlet said the move would allow ICE to deport many more people per month but would also bring on new expenses, like the cost of maintaining and repairing airplanes.