ICE error at Sea-Tac sends India-bound man to Sitka

Thousands of feet in the air on an Alaska Airlines flight that took off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the crew grappled with how to handle a strange situation.

Shortly before takeoff, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had put a man on the wrong plane.

After months in detention at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Rakesh Rakesh was supposed to be on an Alaska Airlines flight to New York City, where he would transfer for a flight to India. Instead, he was on a plane bound for Sitka.

The previously unreported May 31 incident prompted the airline to review safety protocols…(Read full story)