Penn State's State College Regional Airport has seen a surge in ICE charter flights used to transfer detainees between facilities, rising from just two flights in 2025 to 107 through July 2026, according to Human Rights First data, ranking it 18th among 147 airports used for ICE flights nationally. Most flights shuttle detainees to and from Alexandria, Louisiana, a major deportation staging facility, and the airport sits about 40 minutes from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, now arriving or departing roughly three to four times a week. The increase reflects a nationwide rise in ICE Air activity, with domestic transfer flights up 132 percent year-over-year and a record 1,363 domestic transfers in July 2026 alone. Immigration experts say the no-notice "shuffle flights" occur without advance notice to detainees' lawyers or family, while ICE cites bed space and removal logistics; Penn State says it has no direct contract with ICE and is transferring the airport's operations to Centre County, though a resident group has organized to oppose the flights.