[Saba Sports News] British media have reported that England chartered an aircraft for the World Cup that carries a controversial past few would wish to board. The plane forms part of ICE Air, the dedicated fleet operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and has previously been deployed to deport undocumented migrants to Haiti, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and other destinations. The aircraft even featured in a video released by Donald Trump last March, which showed armed law enforcement officers dragging suspected Salvadoran gang members off the jet before transferring them to prisons in El Salvador. Flight logs reveal that the aircraft was operating deportation runs just days before England took possession of it. On June 10, it flew from Harlingen to Villahermosa in Mexico; on June 11, it travelled from Fort Lewis, West Virginia to Mexico City. The England squad flew from Tijuana to Los Angeles aboard this very aircraft on Sunday to prepare for their opening group fixture against New Zealand.
The editor believes that England wrapped up their final pre-tournament preparations in Palm Beach, Florida. The Football Association prides itself on progressive values, yet it has declined to comment on the use of this aircraft. At the previous World Cup, Harry Kane insisted on wearing a rainbow armband on his arm before backing down after being warned he would receive a yellow card.