Independent journalist Gillian Brockell and activist "JJ in DC" take you inside the hidden world of ICE Air, tell you why it is such a key part of ICE's deportation machine, and what you can do about it.
Good News Out of South Sudan, Chicago Update, Talking with Writer Georgene Smith Goodin
Gillian and JJ have updates on Key Lime Cliff and the ICE Air ties to the Chicago parking meter deal. They name and shame the Supreme Court justice who would close the door on his own immigrant ancestors, and then talk to Georgene Smith Goodin, a California writer who became friends with the biological father of the children she adopted, and what happened after he was deported in 2025. Plus, good news out of South Sudan.
SHOW NOTES:
Tools
Each Step Home
https://eachstephome.org/ (https://eachstephome.org/)
Ba Lo Project
https://www.baloproject.org/ (https://www.baloproject.org/)
Habeas Flight Watch
https://lexingtonalarm.org/habeas-flight-watch/ (https://lexingtonalarm.org/habeas-flight-watch/)
Stories
Block Club Chicago | Why Is Mayor Johnson Keeping Secrets about the Parking Meter Deal?
https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/06/24/why-is-mayor-johnson-keeping-secrets-about-the-parking-meter-deal/ (https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/06/24/why-is-mayor-johnson-keeping-secrets-about-the-parking-meter-deal/)
A criminal conviction doesn't make an immigrant 'the worst of the worst'
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-09-14/criminal-conviction-deportation-rehabilitation (https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-09-14/criminal-conviction-deportation-rehabilitation)
23 Jun 2026
Eyes on Chicago, Key Lime Cliff, Talking with MN50501's Nick Benson
Gillian and JJ break down the ICE resurgence in Chicago, and a particularly rich (read: BS) claim from an ICE charter's private-equity boss to the Chicago city council. Plus, we sit down with our friend and Minnesota ICE flight-tracker Nick Benson to talk about still being shocked by little details, even after watching 2,500 shackled neighbors get taken away. He also describes the frosty reception he's gotten from state airport officials, and how that helped inspire him to run for office.
Tools:
Habeas Flight Watch | Lexington Alarm
https://lexingtonalarm.org/habeas-flight-watch/ (https://lexingtonalarm.org/habeas-flight-watch/)
ICE Air FAQ | Gillian Brockell
https://gillianbrockell.com/what-is-ice-air/ (https://gillianbrockell.com/what-is-ice-air/)
Stories:
"ICE never really left": Car crashes and courthouse arrests mark spring escalation | Unraveled Press
https://unraveledpress.com/ice-never-really-left-car-crashes-and-courthouse-arrests-mark-spring-escalation/ (https://unraveledpress.com/ice-never-really-left-car-crashes-and-courthouse-arrests-mark-spring-escalation/)
Parking-meter fight widens as 15 aldermen question Stonepeak's ICE ties | Crain's Chicago Business
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics-policy/ccb-chicago-parking-meter-stonepeak-ice-20260612/ (https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics-policy/ccb-chicago-parking-meter-stonepeak-ice-20260612/)
Video proves Delta flew Liam Ramos and his dad to ICE detention center | GB
https://gillianbrockell.com/video-proves-delta-flew-liam-ramos-and-his-dad-to-ice-detention-center/ (https://gillianbrockell.com/video-proves-delta-flew-liam-ramos-and-his-dad-to-ice-detention-center/)
ICE is offloading seven concentration camps. What does it really mean? | The Handbasket
https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/ice-warehouses-offloading-project-salt-box-q-and-a (https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/ice-warehouses-offloading-project-salt-box-q-and-a)
DHS's 'deportation jet' boondoggle expands under Markwayne | GB
https://gillianbrockell.com/water-is-wet-and-dhss-deportation-fleet-boondoggle-expands-under-markwayne/ (https://gillianbrockell.com/water-is-wet-and-dhss-deportation-fleet-boondoggle-expands-under-markwayne/)
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16 Jun 2026
Worst Airline Ever, Episode 1
Gillian and JJ introduce themselves, how they got into tracking ICE flights, and why ICE Air is so awful and plays such a crucial role in Trump's "deportation machine."
SHOW NOTES:
Tools
Habeas Flight Watch - https://lexingtonalarm.org/hfw-dashboard/ (https://lexingtonalarm.org/hfw-dashboard/)
ICE Flight Monitor at Human Rights First, April 2026 Report - https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/ice-flight-monitor-april-2026-report/ (https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/ice-flight-monitor-april-2026-report/)
ICE Air FAQ - https://gillianbrockell.com/what-is-ice-air/ (https://gillianbrockell.com/what-is-ice-air/)
Stories
Meet the ICE Contractor Running Deportation Flights, by Nick Schwellenbach, POGO https://www.pogo.org/investigates/meet-the-ice-contractor-running-deportation-flights (https://www.pogo.org/investigates/meet-the-ice-contractor-running-deportation-flights)
ICE Deportation Flights are Getting Longer and Crueler, by Gillian Brockell for Mother Jones - https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/ (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/)
Inside ICE Air: What It's Like to Be a Deportation Flight Attendant, by McKenzie Funk, ProPublica - https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ice-air-deportation-flights (https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ice-air-deportation-flights)
Women Who Fled Iran Are to Be Deported to Central African Republic, Lawyers Say, by Hamed Aleaziz & Megha Rajagopalan, NYT - https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/world/africa/deportations-central-african-republic-migrants-iran-women.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/world/africa/deportations-central-african-republic-migrants-iran-women.html)
Bill Gates Has A Link to ICE's Deportation Flights, by Matt Shuham, HuffPost - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bill-gates-trump-ice-signature-aviation_n_68acd96fe4b0d17ae21e7ec4 (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bill-gates-trump-ice-signature-aviation_n_68acd96fe4b0d17ae21e7ec4)
The Private Jet to Hell, One Year Later, by Gillian
https://gillianbrockell.com/the-private-jet-to-hell-one-year-later/ (https://gillianbrockell.com/the-private-jet-to-hell-one-year-later/)
Reach and audience
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Apple Podcasts (US)
4.4 / 5
7 ratings
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