HARLINGEN — Shuffling in shackles, 28 men and women climbed stairs to board a Boeing 737, taking a deportation flight to their home country of Colombia.
A man walks up the boarding stairs onto the aircraft Thursday, June 1, 2023, for a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants In Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)A bus idles on the tarmac as law enforcement agents prepare to escort detained migrants to a waiting aircraft Thursday, June 1, 2023, for a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants In Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Migrant detainees are patted down before boarding an aircraft Thursday, June 1, 2023, for a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants in Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)The ground crew readies the aircraft for takeoff Thursday, June 1, 2023, for a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants In Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Gloria Chavez, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector, Blas Nuñez-Neto, Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Miguel Vergara, Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Harlingen, address the media Thursday, June 1, 2023, during a media event for a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants in Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)A detained man walks towards the boarding stairs for the aircraft Thursday, June 1, 2023, for a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants In Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Blas Nuñez-Neto, Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, takes questions from the media Thursday, June 1, 2023, during a media event at a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants in Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Gloria Chavez, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector, is pictured Thursday, June 1, 2023, during a media event for a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants in Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Miguel Vergara, Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Harlingen, takes questions from the media Thursday, June 1, 2023, during a media event at a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants in Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)A member of the ground crew waits as the aircraft operation procedures Thursday, June 1, 2023, for a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detainees at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants in Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Representatives and agents from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection wait on the tarmac as the aircraft readies for takeoff Thursday, June 1, 2023, for a removal flight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of detained migrants at Gulf Aviation in Harlingen. The flight of 28 detainees will join over 100 other detained migrants In Alexandria, Louisiana, bound for Colombia. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
