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Healey demands ICE stop using Hanscom for flights
At least 114 ICE flights have departed from Hanscom Field in Bedford this year, according to a human rights group that tracks flight data.
Gov. Maura Healey demanded that ICE stop using Hanscom Field in Bedford for immigration enforcement flights in a recent letter to federal authorities.
The move comes as the Trump administration continues to escalate mass deportation efforts using contracted planes throughout the country. In November, ICE conducted the most flights of any month since at least January 2020, according to recent data released by a prominent human rights group that tracks the flights.
Healey called ICE’s deportation tactics “disturbing and anti-American” in her letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE. She accused ICE of using the flights to “sever” immigrants from their friends and family without due process.
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During a major enforcement operation in Massachusetts in September, 63% of the immigrants arrested by ICE had no criminal charges, according to recent reporting from The New York Times that Healey cited. Only 10% had any past criminal conviction, and only 2% had a past violent conviction.
According to ICE, the September operation resulted in 1,406 “illegal alien offenders” being arrested. More than 600 of these people “had significant criminal convictions or pending criminal charges for crimes committed in the United States or were known foreign fugitives,” according to the agency. Federal officials issued multiple statements about the purported public safety improvements that will come from these arrests. They highlighted a handful of “the worst of the worst,” detainees who had violent criminal histories, but did not share detailed information about all the immigrants arrested during the operation.
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ICE did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
In her letter, Healey defended the many immigrants being swept up in enforcement operations who are law-abiding residents.
“They are hard-working, productive, and beloved members of our community that you have indiscriminately targeted for deportation proceedings. Many of them are in the midst of a lawful process seeking citizenship through Massachusetts courts. This doesn’t make our communities safer – it in fact makes us all less safe,” Healey wrote.
Last week immigration enforcement officers disrupted naturalization ceremonies at Faneuil Hall in Boston, abruptly pulling some green card holders who were on the verge of gaining citizenship out of line. This was reportedly done based on their country of origin. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu convened a press conference inside Faneuil Hall this week to harshly condemn the cancellations, saying that they “disturbing to the utmost degree.”
Between the beginning of this year and Nov. 30, there were 114 ICE flights that departed from Hanscom, according to a report from Human Rights First. This represents a 143% increase from the same period in 2024.
ICE does not own planes, but contracts with an airline broker that in turn subcontracts to several airline carriers for the flights, according to the group, which maintains a detailed “ICE Flight Monitor.” ICE also uses Air Force and, increasingly, Coast Guard planes.
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ICE acts quickly, often flying detainees to detention centers and staging areas around the country before they are actually deported. Immigration lawyers have accused the agency of intentionally misleading them and restricting access to their clients.
Last month, a freshman at Babson College was stopped at Logan Airport, flown to Texas, and ultimately deported to Honduras within two days. Her lawyer says this was done in violation of a court order.
Human Rights First documented a sharp increase in the number of domestic transfer flights this year. November saw a record 1,026 domestic ICE flights nationally.
“Flying these residents out of state and away from their support systems and legal counsel — often within hours of arrest — is intentionally cruel and purposely obstructs the due process and legal representation they are owed,” Healey wrote.
The Washington Post recently reported that the Trump administration will spend $140 million to purchase six Boeing 737 planes for deportations.
The total number of ICE flights has also increased steadily this year. In January, the agency only oversaw 534 flights. In November, there were 1,538, according to Human Rights First.
Lexington Alarm!, a local group of activists, have been consistently demonstrating near Hanscom in protest of the flights.
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“Our idea is sand in the gears,” Toby Sackton, president and founder of the group, told The Boston Globe “We want to slow ICE down. We want to reduce their ability to move people in and out of Massachusetts.”
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