A detainee boards a flight chartered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at King County International Airport, shortly after people gathered for a protest against deportation flights, in Seattle, Washington, U.S., January 15, 2026. REUTERS/David Ryder
Shackled migrants are soiling themselves on deportation flights, according to an astonishing new report on the conditions endured by migrants trapped for days on unbranded planes.
Melissa Tran made startling claims about what she experienced on her Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation flight, which was operated by Omni Air International, a Boeing 767 with no company branding.
The Maryland mother of four, a former health care worker and small-business owner, told Mother Jones she was chained at her wrists, waist, and ankles without food or water for over 10 hours before takeoff. For the last seven, she had been sitting on a bus on the tarmac. When she asked an ICE guard about flight time, he winced.
"Sorry, you're the last stop," he told her. She wouldn't reach Hanoi until Thursday after being told the news on Monday night in Louisiana.
Omni Air is owned by Stonepeak, a private equity firm that purchased the airline in April. Since Stonepeak's takeover, Omni's ICE work has quadrupled, according to the report. Flight data reveals 77 trips to 42 countries in just eight months, up from 20 trips to 14 countries in the same period in 2024. The airline now operates longer - and crueler - flights, with 31 trips lasting 24 to 50 hours, the report said.
Migrants said shackles caused swelling, bruising, and permanent nerve damage. One man was restrained for 73 hours, and another for over 80 hours. Tran's wrists became "dented" and red.
"I felt like I was less than an animal," she said.
"Migrants have also said they sometimes soil themselves in their seats," the report added. "Even when permitted to use the lavatory, many say it is difficult to adequately clean themselves while shackled. Migrants on Omni flights to Africa have reported verbal and physical abuse by ICE agents and guards, and being put in straitjacket-like devices and hoods for minor infractions."
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended the practice as "essential" for safety, even as forensic pathologist Judy Melinek warned that shackling creates deadly risks of blood clots and physical harm.
“You don’t have to torture people,” Melinek said. “They’re not going anywhere—they’re on a plane.”
Stonepeak's investors include New York State's pension fund, which now says it's seeking answers.