Under the Trump administration, immigration and deportation have been a hot issue for many Americans. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been noticeably more active recently, detaining immigrants and working to send them back to their country of origin under Pres. Trump’s strict orders.
Avelo Airlines, a small airline that operates out of Tweed New Haven airport and Hartford’s Bradley International, recently contracted with ICE to charter deportation flights out of Mesa, Ariz., for the DHS with three 737-800 airplanes, a decision with which some Connecticut politicians do not agree. Mayor Justin Elicker (D-New Haven) called Avelo’s decision “deeply disappointing and disturbing” according to the New Haven Independent.
Connecticut’s Attorney General William Tong has been outspoken about his disapproval of the airline’s actions. He sent out a press release on April 8 that asked for answers from the company.
Avelo Airline’s CEO Andrew Levy quickly hit back at Tong in a one-page letter, which said he could see a copy of the airline’s contract with the DHS if he submits a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the agency. Levy has since justified the decision to contract with DHS in an internal email on April 3 which said the contract offsets growing financial troubles for the company from growing competition in passenger-travel, a claim Tweed’s spokesperson vehemently denies.
Levy has also defended the decision publicly by citing needed protection from fluctuating fuel prices and other macroeconomic factors to grow the business. An online petition has been launched calling for a boycott of the company that has acquired over 34,000 signatures.
“State taxpayers are helping prop that company up and keep that company operational. But then they turn around and they are then using those same planes that we’re helping to subsidize, to deport individuals out of this country,” Rep. Steven Stafstrom (D-Bridgeport) said during a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee. “I don’t think that’s how we should be spending our state tax dollars.”
The committee had been discussing House Bill 7212 which seeks to expand The Trust Act, which forbids Connecticut state agencies from sharing information with ICE including a person’s school, address, workplace, or “the date, time or location of a person’s hearings, proceedings or appointments with the public agency.” The Trust Act regulates how state and local police cooperate with ICE agents.
The committee seeks to expand the bill after Avelo’s deal with DHS to include companies as part of the entities who are forbidden from sharing information with ICE. It would require that any key personnel from a corporation, firm, or person that applies for a contract with a state agency to not cooperate with federal immigration authority in any capacity, or they will risk losing the contract to the lowest responsible qualified bidder or highest ranked proposer.
Republicans within the committee have strongly opposed the bill because of its resistance to the federal government’s authority. They also claim the bill would endanger public safety. Rep. Greg Howard (R-Stonington) questioned if businesses would be penalized for complying with a judicial warrant, to which Stafstrom replied that a judicial warrant would override the new additions in the bill. Despite the pushback, H.B. 7212 passed the committee with a vote of 29-12.
