ICE deportees reportedly held on N.H. tarmac for more than 12 hours during storm

Local News

A flight carrying around 100 ICE detainees was grounded at Portsmouth International Airport for more than 30 hours in total during the recent winter storm.

A plane full of ICE deportees was stranded at Portsmouth International Airport in New Hampshire earlier this week amid the winter storm, according to multiple reports, flight-tracking data, and the Trump administration.

The plane, which carried about 100 detainees set to be deported, remained at the airport for close to 31 hours in total. Detainees remained in the plane on the tarmac for about 13 of those hours before being allowed to enter a nearby terminal. 

The flight took off from Harlingen, Texas, at about 8:15 Sunday night, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. The stop in Portsmouth was planned, they said in a statement.

The flight, operated by Oklahoma-based Omni Air International, arrived in Portsmouth at 1:09 a.m. Monday, according to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware. 

By then, a historic blizzard was bearing down on much of the region. Although New Hampshire was spared the worst of the storm, Portsmouth still saw notable snowfall. By 1 p.m. Monday, more than 7 inches had fallen at the airport, according to the National Weather Service.

A blizzard warning and other conditions prompted a “weather hold,” according to the DHS spokesperson. The flight crew reached their “maximum allowable duty and entered mandatory crew rest,” they said. 

The detainees deboarded the plane and entered the terminal after about 2 p.m. Monday, The Boston Globe reported. 

“During the delays, airport authorities made an alternative terminal available to provide a safe, secure, and climate-controlled environment for detainees and staff,” the DHS spokesperson said. 

ICE officers ensured the detainees had access to “catered meals,” drinking water, and restrooms during the delay. All prescription medicines were provided to those that needed them, and medical personnel were available for health checks. ICE officers conducted “regular welfare checks to ensure everyone’s well-being, comfort, and dignity,” the DHS spokesperson said. 

While the plane remained at the airport Monday night, Portsmouth Assistant Mayor JoAnna Kelley and other community members went there in the hopes that they could check on the detainees, the Globe reported. The group was not allowed inside, and a staff member told them that the detainees were warm and receiving basic amenities. Kelley could not be reached for comment Wednesday. 

The Pease Development Authority, which oversees the airport, did not return a request for comment Wednesday. A spokesperson told the Globe that the airport was not made aware of the flight until about 15 minutes before it arrived. 

State Sen. Rebecca Kwoka said in a video posted to Instagram Monday that there were about 100 detainees on the flight. Those operating the flight initially refused to deboard the detainees, Kwoka said, before eventually allowing them to shelter in the terminal. 

“I don’t think anyone feels good about this situation, and it does sound like the folks at Pease and local operators have been trying to offer respite and more humane conditions to these passengers for the entirety of their time on the ground, and unfortunately that was not accepted but has been now,” Kwoka said Monday. 

“This is not how human beings should be treated, and the agents of this administration are not above the law,” Kwoka said in a follow-up post Tuesday after the flight departed. 

During the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, 28 ICE flights departed Portsmouth, according to Human Rights First, a nonprofit that maintains records of ICE flights. 

The plane eventually departed Portsmouth just after 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to FlightAware. It landed in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Tuesday night, before departing for Doha, Qatar.