Coalition Protests Avelo Airlines’ Cooperation With ICE

The airline is one of a dozen carriers who provide deportation flights under contract with the Department of Homeland Security.

An Avelo Airlines flight takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) enroute to Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa (STS), on April 28, 2021. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Activists in dozens of cities across the nation protested Avelo Airlines on May 31, demanding that it halt deportation flights it is conducting under a $150 million contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Air Operations.

A petition calling for a boycott collected more than 28,000 signatures.

The Coalition to Stop Avelo protests were held at many of the 49 destinations served by the airline, including Rochester, New York; Burbank, California; Daytona Beach, Florida; Eugene and Salem, Oregon, and Wilmington, Delaware.

Protesters say they will “not stop” until Avelo cancels its ICE contract, or “we put them out of business.”

Protests also took place at Jefferies Financial Group headquarters in New York City, where activists demanded “accountability” from financiers backing the small airline.

Avelo, which began deportation-related flights on May 12, is one of more than a dozen airlines that conduct deportation flights, many of which were contracted under the Biden Administration. The airline provides ICE with both domestic and international charter flights aboard three 737-800s.

The budget airline released a statement saying the ICE contract is vital to its financial stability.

“We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic,” Avelo CEO Andrew Levy wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.

“After significant deliberations, we determined this charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 Crewmembers employed for years to come.”

The protests are part of a coordinated effort calling for Avelo to end its contract with ICE and for lawmakers to remove incentives for the airline.

“If dozens of cities and states stand together, Avelo will be forced to choose between serving the public and operating illegal flights for ICE,” the movement stated on its website.

In a highly charged political environment, Avelo expressed some concern about threats to the company.

“The safety and well-being of our crewmembers (employees), customers and all individuals involved is our highest priority,” wrote Avelo spokesperson Madison Jones in an email to The Epoch Times.

“While we recognize the right of individuals to peacefully assemble, Avelo’s main priority will continue to be maintaining the safety and timeliness of our operation.”

Trump’s Immigration Agenda

Deportation is a key part of the Trump administration’s enforcement of federal immigration law. On the campaign trail in 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump vowed to crack down on illegal immigration and deport millions of illegal immigrants.

“All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” the president stated in his inaugural address.

Upon his return to the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order “Declaring an Emergency on the Southern Border of the United States,” which authorized the nation’s armed forces to assist DHS in obtaining “full operational control of the southern border.”

“We will begin the process of returning millions and millions of illegal aliens back to the place from which they came,” Trump reiterated in his joint address to Congress on Jan. 25.

When announcing the arrest of 538 illegal immigrant criminals, including a suspected terrorist and several individuals convicted of sex crimes against minors, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on X on Jan. 23 stated: “The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway. Promises made. Promises kept.”

Government Pressure

Avelo also finds itself in the crosshairs of New York State Democrat Sen. Patricia Fahy, who on May 27 introduced the State Airport Facilities Enforcing Accountability in Immigration Removals (SAFE AIR) Act. The measure is aimed at “ensuring that New York State does not directly or indirectly aid in immigration enforcement actions.”

The bill would deny fuel tax credits and future contracts to airline companies, including Avelo, that participate in “deportation without due process.”

The bill “prohibits New York State agencies, authorities, departments, local governments, and public benefit corporations from prospectively contracting with commercial airlines, like Avelo Airlines, that participate in removals initiated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a valid judicial warrant and without guaranteeing access to legal counsel and an immigration hearing,” a release said.

It would also revoke current sales tax exemptions on jet fuel purchases for non-compliant airlines.

“As New Yorkers, we must make it clear that no entity doing business with our state should profit from deportations that take place without a judge or access to legal counsel,” wrote the bill’s co-sponsor, Assembly Deputy Majority Leader Michaelle C. Solages, in the release.

Meanwhile, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong wrote in an April 8 letter to Avelo’s CEO that he was “deeply disappointed” to learn that Avelo was working with ICE. He threatened to withhold support from the airline and demanded that Avelo confirm that it will not operate deportation flights from his state.

“We are owed answers on Avelo’s Homeland Security contract to determine whether Avelo’s business practices can remain compatible with such state support,” Tong wrote.

Avelo CEO Levy’s April 15 written reply said there’s a “fundamental misunderstanding” in Tong’s letter of how the government contracts such flights and directed the state attorney general to the DHS and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In a letter to Levy on May 16, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) criticized the airline for taking the contract and asked for copies of airline policies and procedures to confirm the immigration status of those being deported and addressing the situation should they discover that a passenger “should not be removed from the country.”

“By partnering with ICE, Avelo risks being complicit with the Administration’s illegal actions,” the letter states.

Private Airlines and Deportations

Initially, the Trump administration used military aircraft to carry out the flights, but after reports showed the military flights were expensive and inefficient, they were stopped in early March.

The administration turned to private airlines. ICE’s prime contractor is the New Mexico-based CSI Aviation, which describes itself as a “seasoned federal contractor.” The company does not mention ICE services on its website.

In February, ICE awarded CSI a no-bid contract worth an estimated $128 million to remove illegal immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act.

As of April 28, ICE under the Trump administration had deported more than 139,000 illegal immigrants, according to U.S. border czar Tom Homan.