As the movie trailers say, "Welcome to Con-Air," only this time, it´s real! Migrant workers along side felonious, vicious criminals are flying the skies to their receiving locations. ICE Con Air Jets fly aliens home
U.S. government runs an airline for inmates, illegal immigrants
By Tim Smith • CAPITAL BUREAU • August 17, 2008
U.S. government runs an airline for inmates, illegal immigrants
By Tim Smith • CAPITAL BUREAU • August 17, 2008
The only passengers on the sleek, white jets are prisoners or illegal immigrants going home. The airline -- run by the federal government -- is one of the ways illegal immigrants caught in South Carolina are returned to their homelands. With a push to deport more illegal immigrants, the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System airline, which Hollywood moviemakers made famous in the 1997 film "Con Air," expects to be busy for years to come. A record 276,912 illegals were removed from the United States in fiscal year 2007, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials estimate passengers aboard JPATS flights will swell to 267,000 this year, up from 162,000 in 2002.
"It's the most safe, cost-effective way to move inmates and illegal immigrants throughout the United States," said Dorothy Zinnert, chief of scheduling for JPATS. The airline was formed in 1995, a merger between the air and transport services of the U.S. Marshal's Service and ICE. It now ranks as one of the largest transporters of prisoners in the world, handling more than 1,000 flight requests each day. And it remains the only government operated, regularly scheduled airline in the nation, officials say.
In addition to flying thousands of illegal immigrants, the airline also moves federal inmates between prisons or courts and contracts with state and local law enforcement agencies to bring back prisoners or fugitives.
While Hollywood may have made the name Con Air famous, Zinnert said the label was around for years before that. "We're the real Con Air," she said.
"It's the most safe, cost-effective way to move inmates and illegal immigrants throughout the United States," said Dorothy Zinnert, chief of scheduling for JPATS. The airline was formed in 1995, a merger between the air and transport services of the U.S. Marshal's Service and ICE. It now ranks as one of the largest transporters of prisoners in the world, handling more than 1,000 flight requests each day. And it remains the only government operated, regularly scheduled airline in the nation, officials say.
In addition to flying thousands of illegal immigrants, the airline also moves federal inmates between prisons or courts and contracts with state and local law enforcement agencies to bring back prisoners or fugitives.
While Hollywood may have made the name Con Air famous, Zinnert said the label was around for years before that. "We're the real Con Air," she said.
The process:
. an illegal immigrant is granted a hearing and the process can take months or years.
. When an immigrant is ordered out of the country, ground transportation takes him to a detention center or contracted local facility near the airport where they will be picked up.
. JPATS operates its flights out of Oklahoma City, Okla., with hubs in Alexandria, La.; Mesa, Ariz.; Anchorage, Alaska; York, Pa.; and the Virgin Islands, officials said. It's planes, however, travel to airports throughout the country.
. The inmates or immigrants get on and off planes away from an airport's public terminals for greater security.
. Deportees wear civilian clothes and get to bring one checked bag home, weighing no more than 44 pounds.
. They are restrained while on the flight and escorted by security personnel
. JPATS operates its flights out of Oklahoma City, Okla., with hubs in Alexandria, La.; Mesa, Ariz.; Anchorage, Alaska; York, Pa.; and the Virgin Islands, officials said. It's planes, however, travel to airports throughout the country.
. The inmates or immigrants get on and off planes away from an airport's public terminals for greater security.
. Deportees wear civilian clothes and get to bring one checked bag home, weighing no more than 44 pounds.
. They are restrained while on the flight and escorted by security personnel
. The government provides the deportees with food while on board. (sandwich, cheese, crackers, water, fruit)
. Each deportee is escorted down the stairs once they arrive in their home country. Once off the plane, they are met by their nation's federal immigration officers.
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