Citing AP investigation, senators demand answers on use of full-body restraints during deportations
Source: Associated Press
By JIM MUSTIAN and JASON DEAREN
Updated 9:23 AM PDT, October 30, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — A “near-total secrecy” surrounding deportation flights and the use of full-body restraints onboard is raising “serious human rights concerns,” a group of 11 Democratic U.S. senators wrote in a letter Thursday to top immigration officials.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called upon U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide a full accounting of its air operations and to stop using the black and yellow restraints known as the WRAP until the agency explains its policies for the device and resolves other questions about its use on immigration detainees.
“I think it’s very problematic,” Van Hollen told The Associated Press. “They want to keep the public in the dark.”
The senators’ letter cites an AP investigation this month that revealed several examples of ICE using the device on people — sometimes for hours — on deportation flights dating to 2020. Van Hollen was joined by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Alex Padilla of California, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and six others.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/immigration-deportations-wrap-senators-letter-55acd1dc304ce16c9f560d271819e78e
AP investigative story on use of WRAPs:
ICE’s use of full-body restraints during deportations raises concerns over inhumane treatment
Takeaways from the AP investigation into ICE’s use of a full-body restraint device known as the WRAP
= new reply since forum marked as read
