The system of moving people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement often operates behind closed doors.
“That’s the whole thing about ICE detention is so much of it is hidden from view,” said Stan Shikuma, a volunteer with watchdog organization La Resistencia.
Yet those flights haven’t escaped notice. La Resistencia volunteers monitor them week after week, and have since 2023.
“La Resistencia has developed kind of guidelines of what information we want to get out of these observations. So the bottom line is, we want numbers,” Shikuma said.
Having those counts allows La Resistencia to track the number of folks detained in the Northwest ICE Processing Center. Based on those numbers, Shikuma said, they believe the center is nearing its almost-1,600-person capacity.
“In November, before the elections, [there were] probably 800 to 900 people inside. And now we believe that there’s probably at least 1,400 people, maybe more, on the inside,” Shikuma said.
Counting how many detainees are being moved is not an exact science, but Shikuma said one telltale sign is how they walk.
“We look to see if they’re shackled. Everybody who is getting off the bus or onto the plane or off the plane, that is being detained, will be in chains,” he explained.
“People can’t take a full step. You can’t walk normally and you can’t use your hands.”
But keeping tabs on the numbers is not the only reason La Resistencia continues to monitor the flights.
“Another reason we want to be there, bearing witness to all of this, is so that we can share that with the public. Because a lot of people, almost nobody knows that this is happening on public grounds on the King County Airport, a publicly owned airport,” he said.
Former King County Executive Dow Constantine tried to stop ICE from using the airport in April 2019, but the federal government sued. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided in ICE’s favor in July 2024.
“So now we’re in the position of having to comply with FAA guidance, which means ICE can use that airport. That is, unfortunately, the position that we’ve been put in. But we’re not going to do that without actually ensuring that community organizations have eyes on the ground,” said King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda.
The flights are also operated by a private company, Global X, making it even more difficult to get information about them. Neither ICE nor Global X responded to a request for comment.
As planes with more detainees arrive and the detention center nears capacity, Shikuma said La Resistencia will keep monitoring.
“It’s important that ICE knows that someone is watching because people in detention have very little control over their lives. And we know that abuse is much more likely to happen if those in power feel like no one’s watching,” Shikuma said.
