ICE mistakenly puts Indian national on Alaska flight during deportation
Jun 17, 2025·Location: Tacoma, WA
Country of origin: India

Rakesh Rakesh, an Indian national detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, was granted voluntary departure to India. On May 31, 2025, ICE officers escorted him to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and mistakenly placed him on an Alaska Airlines flight to Sitka, Alaska instead of his intended connecting flight through New York to India. Flight attendants alerted ICE officers to the error, but officers directed his boarding anyway. Upon landing in Sitka, the Alaska Airlines captain assisted Rakesh and arranged his return to Seattle. However, ICE re-detained him upon arrival rather than allowing him to continue to India. He remained in the Tacoma detention center for 16 additional days, during which he undertook a hunger strike, before being released and facilitated to depart for India on June 17, 2025.
Timeline
Sources
- ICE sends Indian national who sought self-deportation to Alaska instead
KUOW·Apr 27, 2026·archived copy
- ICE error at Sea-Tac sends India-bound man to Sitka
juneauindependent.com·Apr 26, 2026·archived copy
- ICE Put Indian Man on Wrong Alaska Airlines Flight from Seattle to Sitka Instead of New York
aviationa2z.com·Apr 24, 2026·archived copy
- ICE error at WA airport puts India-bound man on wrong flight to Alaska
- ICE Put A Deportee On A Flight To Alaska Instead Of India, Then Blocked Him From Leaving The U.S. For 16 Days
viewfromthewing.com·Apr 24, 2026·archived copy
- Seattle Times
- ICE agents reportedly put man on wrong plane at Seattle airport
kiro7.com·Apr 24, 2026·archived copy
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