(BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS) Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is demanding that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stop using Hanscom Field for private deportation flights, saying the quick transfers are blocking detainees from seeing lawyers and family and are “intentionally cruel.” Healey’s office said she sent the request on a Monday in December 2025 in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, after local reporting and protests tied the Bedford airport to a string of charter removals.
Governor’s claims and demands
In her letter, Healey argued that people detained in Massachusetts are being placed on private aircraft and flown out of state “often within hours of arrest,” cutting them off from legal counsel and support systems.
“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,” she wrote. “This is not the justice we believe in or stand for in Massachusetts or as Americans. This practice must stop.”
Healey went further, urging ICE to halt the use of any Massachusetts airports for similar operations, not only Hanscom Field.
She wrote: “As Governor, I am writing to demand that ICE immediately stop using any Massachusetts airports and private jets to deport residents and obstruct due process, and to halt this practice across this country.”
The letter framed the flights as a national issue about:
- Access to lawyers
- The right to hearings
- How quickly federal agencies can move a person through the system
Who is affected
The governor’s office said a large majority of people detained by ICE in Massachusetts over the past year have no criminal convictions or charges, and that many are in the middle of lawful processes to get status through Massachusetts courts.
Healey described those detained as “hard-working, productive, and beloved members of our community that you have indiscriminately targeted for deportation proceedings.” Her letter did not name individual detainees, but aides said the state has heard from families who had little warning before a loved one disappeared into distant detention.
Local concerns, reporting, and protests
The flights have become a flashpoint in Boston-area suburbs where residents near the airfield watched a steady stream of private jets and questioned what was happening on a publicly operated runway.
Reporting by Patch and The Bedford Citizen said ICE has been using charter flights out of Hanscom to move detainees—sometimes after transfers from facilities such as the Plymouth County Jail—to larger detention centers in Louisiana and Texas. Advocates say that distance can make it far harder to:
- Speak with counsel
- Get documents
- Gather evidence for immigration court
Local groups including Ground ICE and Lexington Alarm! have organized protests and pressed for answers about:
- Who authorizes access to Hanscom
- What notice is given before removal flights
- Whether people are being removed without a fair chance to reach counsel
Hanscom Field Advisory Commission members Teri Ackerman and Terrence Parker have urged public discussion. Ackerman said, “I think that we are one of the official bodies involved in Hanscom, and if we don’t speak up, who will,” as quoted in local reporting.
Supporters of the protests say they are not disputing federal authority, but they want basic openness and safeguards.
Massport’s position and records reporting
Massport, the Massachusetts Port Authority that operates Hanscom Field, has publicly said it has no role in the deportation flights. The agency has stated that it:
- “does not receive prior knowledge of these flights”
- “cannot discriminate who can or cannot use the airport”
- must accommodate federal operations because Hanscom is a public-use airport
That stance has frustrated local officials and activists who say Massport could at least push for transparency, especially when flights involve residents with pending court steps.
A November 2025 investigation by the Lexington Observer raised the stakes by reporting emails obtained through a public-records request that appear to show Massport officials did receive advance notice of ICE charter flights from Signature Aviation, a fixed-base operator at Hanscom.
- In a Sept. 24 letter, Christopher Willenborg, Massport’s director of Hanscom Field, told the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission that “airport representatives do not receive advance notification of ICE flight activity, as these are federal operations.”
- The Lexington Observer cited an email from Signature general manager Anthony Caruso that said, “Here is the info we received on the ICE charter flights scheduled for this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon.”
Stops and starts: flight routing and agency responses
ICE has not publicly responded to Healey’s latest letter, according to the most recent reporting referenced by the governor’s office.
Earlier reporting from The Bedford Citizen indicated an ICE spokesperson had said flights were moved away from Hanscom at one point and that the change was believed to be “not just a temporary halt.” Later reporting found flights resumed after a period when they were shifted to Portsmouth International Airport at Pease (New Hampshire).
These stops-and-starts have left residents asking whether ICE is choosing locations based on:
- Secrecy
- Convenience
- Or both
Legal access, practical barriers, and consequences
Immigration lawyers stress that distance matters because many detention centers:
- Rely on limited phone access
- Move hearings quickly once someone is booked into a new facility
When a client is sent south, Massachusetts-based counsel may need local partners, new court dates, and this adds both cost and delay for families.
For families and lawyers, the dispute is ultimately about time. A person arrested in Massachusetts can lose contact with counsel within hours if placed on a plane to a distant detention center—even if they have:
- A pending case
- A viable claim for relief
- Paperwork already filed
ICE maintains that removals and transfers are part of its work and offers public information on its process through its official site, including detention and removal operations, at ICE Removal Operations.
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, rapid transfers also raise practical barriers because legal strategy often depends on quick access to:
- Documents
- Translators
- Witnesses close to home in the United States 🇺🇸
Key points and takeaways
- Governor Healey demanded ICE stop using Hanscom Field and any Massachusetts airports for private deportation flights.
- The governor says many detained have no criminal convictions and are in active legal processes.
- Local reporting suggests advance notice of flights may have been received by airport contractors, contradicting Massport’s public claims.
- Advocates say flights to distant detention centers severely hinder access to counsel and the ability to mount a defense.
- ICE has not issued a public reply to Healey’s most recent letter; flight routing has shifted between Hanscom and other regional airports.
This remains an active issue of local, state, and national concern about transparency, due process, and how quickly federal agencies move people through the immigration system.
Governor Maura Healey demanded ICE stop using Hanscom Field and other Massachusetts airports for private deportation flights, arguing rapid transfers impede access to lawyers and due process. Local reporting and public records suggest some airport contractors received advance flight notices, conflicting with Massport’s denial of prior knowledge. Advocates say moves to detention centers in Louisiana and Texas make legal representation and evidence gathering far more difficult. ICE has not publicly answered Healey’s letter; flights have shifted among regional airports.
