Bearing Witness Against ICE
Citizens Stand Out for Justice Every Week
Early on a warm Friday afternoon, I park near a traffic rotary in Lincoln, Mass. The borders of Lexington and Concord – where the American Revolution kicked off – are less than a mile away. People are gathering here as they have done every Friday, rain, snow or heat, since October. Nearby is Hanscom Field, where judicial terrorism is being committed.
Hanscom Field Advisory Commission Seeks Public Webcams and Fewer Restrictions on Observing ICE Activity
To facilitate improved observation of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity at Hanscom Field, the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission (HFAC) is requesting that the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) allow public observation without duration and recording equipment restrictions and install a publicly viewable livestream system showing airport activity.
Hanscom Field Advisory Group Wants Cameras Installed to Show ICE Operations in Bedford
The motion to install cameras followed a presentation by the De-ICE Hanscom Coalition, a volunteer group that opposes ICE flights at the airport. Human Rights First reported there have been 74 ICE-related flights at Hanscom Field as of June 30, compared to 127 total last year.
Todd Palmer, spokesperson for the coalition, said activists are asking for something similar to the setup in [King County, Washington]. The airport there maintains a log of ICE flights and provides four live camera views of the airfield.
A Must-Listen Podcast: Worst Airline Ever
Independent journalist Gillian Brockell and activist “JJ in DC” take you inside the hidden world of ICE Air, tell you why it is such a key part of ICE’s deportation machine, and what you can do about it.
In episode 1, JJ from DC gives a shoutout to the contributions of unnamed members of the De-ICE Hanscom team.
At Seattle’s Boeing Field, Real-Time Video Offers a Rare Glimpse of America’s Troubled Deportation Flights
While news organizations have reported on some of these incidents aboard what the government calls ICE Air, key details about how the system works would still be hidden were it not for a group of researchers who are now part of the work inside the observation room.
At Seattle’s Boeing Field, Real-Time Video Offers a Rare Glimpse of America’s Troubled Deportation Flights
Habeas Flight Watch: New Tool Helps Track ICE Flights to Your City
A group of activists, including our own Lexington Alarm, have built a new online tool to track domestic ICE flights in real-time and predict their schedules. Called Habeas Flight Watch, it was designed to help the legal teams of detained migrants with habeas petitions and emergency motions, but activists and journalists have also begun using it to document ICE’s actions in their cities.
Federal Judge Sanctions ICE
Woman Held in Burlington and Flown out of Hanscom
“By the Court’s count, the foregoing describes at least half a dozen ways in which ICE disregarded the standards the Constitution demands of a government agency responsible for the health and safety of a person it has chosen to detain. Considered altogether, this course of conduct demonstrates ICE’s deliberate indifference to Peruano’s health and safety, both generally and specifically as a result of her known and serious medical condition. ICE’s failure to comply with the constitutional obligations it assumed when it took Peruano into custody bears on the appropriate scope of relief and also warrants sanctions, as the Court will explain below.”
Protesters Stand Out Against ICE at Hanscom
It was a cold and bleak afternoon, but that didn’t deter about two dozen residents of Lincoln and neighboring towns who stood with protest signs to protest ICE prisoner flights from Hanscom Field on March 6 as they have done every Friday for the past several months.
Governor Healey Writes to Signature Airlines
Dear Mr. Lefebvre,
I am writing to request that you to immediately sever all ties with I CE and cease providing services that support ICE’s deportation flights out of Hanscom Field.
Healey demands Trump halt ICE flights from Hanscom
Hanscom Field is the busiest in New England for immigration detainee flights, happening about thrice weekly during most months since President Trump’s second inauguration, according to ICE Flight Monitor.
Healey directly calls on 2 airlines to end ICE collaboration
Gov. Maura Healey’s demands come after ICE expanded its operations at Hanscom Field in Bedford last year.
