U.S. Immigration Agency Under Fire for Using Full-Body Restraint Device During Deportations

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Associated Press investigation has uncovered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s (ICE) continued use of a controversial full-body restraint known as the WRAP during deportation operations — despite internal warnings that the device could cause serious harm and may violate human rights standards.

The WRAP, described by experts as a “human cocoon” or “body wrap,” is designed to immobilize a person by strapping their legs, arms, and torso tightly together. Officials claim the device is meant to prevent self-harm or violence. But according to multiple testimonies collected by AP, detainees were bound in the WRAP for hours at a time, including during long international flights, leaving them in pain, humiliated, and psychologically traumatized.

“It felt like a kidnapping”

A Nigerian man, now detained in Ghana after being deported from the U.S., told AP he and several others were awakened in the middle of the night, handcuffed, shackled, and told they were being sent to Ghana — even though none of them were from there.

“When we asked to speak to our lawyer, they refused,” he said. “They tied us up in this black-and-yellow suit called the WRAP and forced us onto the plane. It felt like a kidnapping.”

He recalled being strapped into the device for a 16-hour flight, unable to eat, move, or use the restroom.
“They tied me like cargo,” he said. “I’ve never felt so dehumanized.”

At least five deportees interviewed by AP in recent years said they were restrained in WRAPs during ICE deportation flights. Witnesses in four different countries corroborated seeing similar incidents this year alone.

Internal concerns and government warnings ignored

A 2023 report by the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Office (CRCL) — the oversight arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which supervises ICE — raised serious concerns about the device’s use. The report said ICE had no clear policy defining when or how the WRAP should be deployed, creating “significant risk of injury and civil rights violations.”

Despite those warnings, ICE continued using the device. Government records show DHS has spent more than $268,000 purchasing WRAPs from Safe Restraints Inc., a California-based company, since 2015. The majority of those purchases were made during the Trump administration, when deportations reached historic levels.

Safe Restraints Inc. defends its product, claiming it “protects individuals from self-harm and prevents officer injuries,” asserting that, when used correctly, it “keeps airways open and reduces the chance of injury.”
But lawyers and human rights advocates say ICE has misused the WRAP as a punitive and coercive tool, not as a safety measure.

Deportees describe pain, fear, and humiliation

One of the most disturbing accounts came from Juan Antonio Pineda, a Salvadoran man living legally in Maryland. According to his wife, Pineda was detained when he went to renew his residency permit.

He was handcuffed, placed in a WRAP, and driven more than four hours to the Mexico border. When he refused to sign deportation papers, Pineda said ICE officers broke his arm and punched him in the face before restraining him again.

Family-provided videos reviewed by AP show Pineda with a cast on his arm and bruises under his eye.
“I begged them to stop, told them I couldn’t breathe,” he said. “They didn’t care.”

Similar stories have emerged from Cameroonian, Honduran, and Guinean deportees. One man said he was “bound like a log” during a transatlantic flight; another said he was restrained for more than 16 hours straight, only briefly released to use the restroom.
“No one should be treated like that,” one deportee said. “They wouldn’t do this to animals.”

Legal actions and constitutional challenges

A growing number of civil rights lawsuits have been filed against ICE, accusing the agency of violating the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

“This is inhumane and runs contrary to the values America claims to stand for,” said Noah Baron, a civil rights attorney representing a group of deportees who were sent to Ghana. “Binding nonviolent individuals — already handcuffed — in a full-body restraint is punishment, not protection.”

Fatma Marouf, a law professor at Texas A&M University who represents another group of deportees, said the WRAP should only be used “as a last resort” when all other methods fail. She warned that prolonged immobilization can cause long-term psychological trauma, akin to post-traumatic stress disorder.

“What ICE is doing is not a matter of safety,” Marouf said. “It’s control — and control without accountability leads to abuse.”

A history of death and controversy

The WRAP is not unique to ICE. The device has been adopted by more than 1,800 law enforcement and correctional agencies across the United States since the late 1990s. Initially marketed as a safer alternative to the hogtie method — which was banned after multiple deaths from asphyxiation — the WRAP was supposed to save lives.

But AP’s investigation found at least 40 deaths linked to its use in the past decade, including 12 cases in which coroners concluded that “restraint” was a contributing factor.

One of the most notorious cases involved Othel Moore Jr., a 39-year-old Black man who died of “mechanical asphyxiation” inside a Missouri jail in 2023 after being restrained in the WRAP and fitted with a spit hood. Jail footage showed Moore pleading, “I can’t breathe.” Five correctional officers were charged with murder.

In Virginia, Rolin Hill, another Black man, also died while restrained in a WRAP after officers beat him and denied medical care. His death, captured on surveillance video, prompted renewed calls for nationwide restrictions on the device.

Civil rights experts argue that these deaths highlight a systemic problem — one where law enforcement agencies rely on high-risk restraint tools without proper training or oversight.

ICE’s defense: “For safety, not punishment”

When asked for comment, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said ICE “uses restraints only when necessary to ensure the safety of all parties involved” and that the agency “complies with all federal standards and guidelines.”

However, ICE declined to disclose how often the WRAP is used or to release internal policies governing its deployment.

In an interview, Charles Hammond, CEO of Safe Restraints Inc., said the company provides ICE with a “modified version” of the device, equipped with “soft elbow cuffs” and “front-facing anchors” to minimize injury.
Yet when told about reports that nonviolent detainees were being placed in WRAPs for hours, Hammond acknowledged: “If that’s true, it’s misuse. The WRAP was never designed for punishment.”

Human rights advocates sound the alarm

Organizations such as Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have called for an immediate suspension of WRAP use in deportation operations. They argue that the practice violates international standards on humane treatment, including the U.N. Convention Against Torture, which the U.S. ratified in 1994.

“This isn’t about keeping people safe,” said Alyssa Wu, a senior researcher at Amnesty. “This is about making deportations more efficient by dehumanizing the people being deported.”

Human rights observers have long criticized ICE for its opaque deportation procedures, describing a “black box” system where individuals are often moved without notice, denied legal counsel, and subjected to physical restraints with no independent oversight.

Inside a hidden system

ICE routinely operates “air deportations” through chartered flights under its Air Operations division. These flights often carry dozens of immigrants from detention centers across the country to destinations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Unlike criminal extraditions, deportation flights are not open to media or third-party observers, and passengers often describe conditions more akin to prisoner transport than civil removal.

A former ICE contractor, speaking anonymously, told AP that officers often resorted to “full restraint” when detainees resisted boarding — even verbally.
“The message was clear,” he said. “If they didn’t comply, the WRAP would make them comply.”

A moral and legal crossroads

Supporters of ICE argue that physical restraints are sometimes necessary to maintain safety and prevent flight risks. But critics counter that the agency’s methods reflect a culture of dehumanization within the U.S. immigration system.

“Security and humanity are not mutually exclusive,” said Professor Marouf. “America can protect its borders without erasing its conscience.”

The growing legal pressure, combined with increasing public scrutiny, could soon force the government to revisit its policies. For now, however, thousands of migrants remain vulnerable to being bound, silenced, and hidden from public view — their fates sealed inside a restraint designed to protect, but used to oppress.

A question of identity

As the debate intensifies, the WRAP has become more than just a piece of equipment. It has become a symbol of the struggle between national security and human dignity — a visual representation of how far the U.S. is willing to go in the name of control.

While ICE defends its methods as lawful, critics say the agency has crossed an ethical line that no democracy should ever approach.

“If this is what America’s immigration enforcement looks like,” said attorney Baron, “then we need to ask ourselves — what are we really protecting?”