By admin 
MESA, AZ (AZFamily) — ICE agents pepper-sprayed more than two dozen undocumented immigrants as they were being held at a short-term holding facility at Mesa Gateway Airport, causing one of them to have a seizure, according to a 911 call. An ICE agent made that call, explaining it had started with an officer safety issue.
Read more STAR Village prepares for summer weather with new tents, cooling sites
It comes as deportation flights from Mesa Gateway Airport have increased as ICE continues to use the facility as a hub for immigration enforcement operations.
According to Human Rights First, 778 charter flights departed Mesa Gateway in all of 2025. In the first four months of this year, 464 flights have left the airport.
The increase comes as questions arise about treatment of detainees at an ICE holding facility at the airport.
First responders were called to the facility around 2 a.m. on Feb. 27 after ICE officers pepper-sprayed about two dozen undocumented immigrants, according to radio traffic.
“One subject is seizing on the floor,” a caller who identified himself as an ICE officer said in a 911 call. “It appears that the subject that was seizing is now coherent.”
Read more Driver rams cars as gunfire breaks out at San Luis Port of Entry
Emergency personnel arrived to check and treat the immigrants who had been pepper-sprayed.
The short-term holding facility is operated by ICE.
The city of Mesa has said it can’t intervene because it has no jurisdiction.
All of this is the subject of this week’s Arizona’s Family Investigates podcast. You can download it wherever you get your podcasts.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Do you have a story you want us to investigate? Tell us about it by contacting us.