WASHINGTON -- A "near-total secrecy" surrounding deportation flights and the use of full-body restraints onboard is raising "serious human rights concerns," a group of 11 Democratic U.S. senators wrote in a letter Thursday to top immigration officials.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called upon U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide a full accounting of its air operations and to stop using the black and yellow restraints known as the WRAP until the agency explains its policies for the device and resolves other questions about its use on immigration detainees.

"I think it's very problematic," Van Hollen told The Associated Press. "They want to keep the public in the dark."

The senators' letter cites an AP investigation this month that revealed several examples of IC

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