US immigration enforcement flights have increased emissions by 80% since Trump's deportation campaign, contributing significantly to climate change. ICE's air operations emitted an estimated 335,876 tonnes of carbon in 2025, marking an 88% rise from the previous year.
Key points
Trump's deportation campaign increased immigration flights by 80%
ICE emitted 335,876 tonnes of carbon in 2025
Emissions rose 88% from the previous year
Flights contribute to climate change
Data analysis reveals staggering increase in flights
Good morning.
Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign has spurred at least an 80% increase in immigration flights year over year, accelerating theclimate crisisby emitting massive amounts of carbon dioxide, according to data analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian.
“We’ve seen a staggering increase of all US immigration [enforcement] flights,” including “the number of flights as well as the locations that the flights are going to,” said Savitri Arvey, the director of research and analysis for refugee and immigrant rights at Human Rights First, a US advocacy group.
How much carbon is ICE emitting through deportation flights? US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) air operations pumped out an estimated 335,876 tonnes (37,0240 US tons) of carbon emissions in 2025, up 88% from the year before. The first four months of 2026 show the federal agency is on track to contribute even more to global heating this year from such flights, the Guardian can reveal.
US strikes Iranian missile sites and mine-laying vessels as Trump’s promised peace deal remains elusive
An anti-US billboard in Tehran
An anti-US billboard in Tehran. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA
The US has launched strikes on southern Iran in a test of the seven-week long ceasefire, as both sides played down hopes for an imminent peace deal even as negotiators from Tehran began new talks in Qatar.
US forces targeted missile launch sites and boats attempting to lay mines, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Tuesday, but stressed that the strikes did not indicate the ceasefire with Iran was over.
Centcom “continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire”, said navy captain Tim Hawkins, who characterised the action as “defensive”.
Why is Trump facing criticism from his own party over Iran? Loyalists are concerned over reports that billions of dollars in frozen assets could be made available to Tehran, with senior Republican saying the reported details of the peace deal appear too close to the nuclear deal negotiated in 2015 by the Obama administration, which Trump scrapped.
Q&A
What is the increase in carbon emissions from US immigration flights?
US immigration flights are estimated to have emitted 335,876 tonnes of carbon in 2025, an 88% increase from the previous year.
How has Trump's deportation campaign affected immigration flights?
Trump's mass deportation campaign has led to at least an 80% increase in immigration enforcement flights year over year.
What are the environmental impacts of ICE's deportation flights?
ICE's deportation flights are contributing significantly to climate change by increasing carbon emissions and accelerating global heating.
What data supports the claim about emissions from immigration flights?
The claims about emissions from immigration flights are supported by data analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian.
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Spread of Ebola in DRC ‘outpacing’ response efforts, warns WHO
Workers in full hazmat load a coffin on to a pickup truck
Health workers transporting the body of an Ebola victim for a safe burial at a hospital in Bunia, Ituri province, DRC. Photograph: EPA
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the Ebola outbreak is outpacing response efforts and countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are at high risk from the disease.
“We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” said the WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as he urged neighbouring countries to take immediate action.
Addressing an online meeting of the African Union about the outbreak, he also announced there had been 220 suspected deaths so far in the current Ebola outbreak and that he would travel to the DRC on Tuesday with Chikwe Ihekweazu, the executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme.
What causes Ebola**?** The rare Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which has no approved treatment or vaccine.
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Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, called the situation an ‘embarrassment for Japan’. Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters
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Seven years after the German woman Lisa Wiese went missing, a police raid on a UK-based sect has given her family a glimmer of hope. Wiese was 30 when she vanished during a trip to Kerala, India in March 2019.
Stat of the day: Remains of US soldier killed in WW****2 returned to Pennsylvania after 80 years
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Wreaths are laid during the Memorial Day ceremony at the World War II Memorial in Washington DC. Photograph: Matthew Kaminsky/EPA
The remains of a US soldier killed during the second world war were returned to his Pennsylvania hometown more than 80 years after he died after DNA analysis identified him. The body of John A Walko, a US army private first class who died on 20 October 1944 during the Battle of Aachen in Germany, arrived earlier this month.
Culture pick: Nemesis review – a ridiculously entertaining cop show packed with stars of The Wire
Matthew Law as Isaiah Stiles and Y’lan Noel as Coltrane Wilder
Matthew Law as Isaiah Stiles and Y’lan Noel as Coltrane Wilder in Nemesis. Photograph: Saeed Adyani/Netflix
This Netflix drama about a maverick cop crime-busting high-stakes heists might seem cliched at first – but after two episodes, Nemesis proceeds to go berserk – layering on the betrayals, the unexpected alliances, the strained or switched loyalties, the risks taken and stakes raised.
Don’t miss this: US students on why they booed their pro-AI graduation speakers – ‘They’re not reading the room’
A student holds up a sign reading 'Who wrote your speech? ChatGPT?'
A student holds up a sign during a commencement speech at Boston University by David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Warner Bros Discovery. Photograph: Steven Senne/AP
When music executive Scott Borchetta told graduates at Middle Tennessee State University that AI was already making parts of their education “obsolete”, students booed loudly – a reaction that they say reflected a wider fear among young people entering an uncertain job market transformed by artificial intelligence.
Climate check: Why Michigan is emerging as one of America’s worst-hit climate states
A person wearing gloves and work clothes walking past uprooted trees
A volunteer in Union City, Michigan works to clear debris after a suspected tornado hit the area in March. Photograph: Nam Y Huh/AP
Florida, California and the mountain west are often held up as US regions worst affected by climate change. But recent events suggest parts of the Great Lakes are suffering, too. This year’s flooding and tornadoes in Michigan appear to be part of a wider trend in a state where severe weather events from past years are still placing huge financial burdens on residents.
Last Thing: Taylor Swift’s decision to limit her wedding guest list could be a lesson to us all
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift kiss in a stadium
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift kiss after the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC Championship game last year. Photograph: Ashley Landis/AP
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are reportedly getting married on 3 July, and while the plans are mostly under wraps, one detail about the guest list has already caused controversy: single guests apparently weren’t given plus-ones. One anonymous invitee complained that attending solo would be “awkward” – so is this a faux pas? Or are the happy couple in the right?
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