Hanscom as ICE hub: Detainee flights elevate ire toward airfield

Hanscom Field officials say they can’t confirm reported detainee flights; Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seems shrouded in opacity. 

But a Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson has confirmed that the PCSO brought 545 detainees to Hanscom between inauguration day and the end of May.

The affirmation ratchets up opposition from some locals to Hanscom activities, including a proposal to add 17 private jet hangars that has prompted well over a year’s worth of protests.  

“What kind of organization is this [that] we have in our midst?” asked Acton resident Julie Hirschler, who said she was demonstrating at Hanscom last year when police arrested climate activists protesting the expansion.

ICE has routed planes through Hanscom in the past. Agency spokespersons didn’t respond to Acton Bridge questions about recent flights, and ICE doesn’t regularly share information about its trips.

The PCSO has a longstanding contract to house detainees at its jail. That makes it one of just a few sites in New England — and the closest large site to Acton — where ICE can send people it arrests. PCSO transports were first reported by WBUR.

Online tracking

While they can’t be certain, advocates using open-source flight tracking websites have identified patterns that they say indicate suspected ICE flights. They believe Hanscom has seen an uptick in ICE operations since President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the ensuing spike in ICE detentions. 

Former JP Morgan executive Tom Cartwright said ICE’s opacity is one reason he started following flights. He understands not disclosing trips before they happen or while they’re in the air. “But after a flight has taken place,” he said, “it seems very weird.”

Demonstrators protested ICE at Hanscom on June 7.

The next day, Hirschler estimated, 130 people were on hand to discuss the matter at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center.

‘Not publicly acceptable’

Hanscom Field Advisory Commission member Christopher Eliot said he thinks ICE’s recent actions are “reprehensible,” and he blasted the feds for their silence. 

“There is an old saying about if you can’t do something in public, then maybe you shouldn’t be doing it at all,” he said during a recent meeting. 

“Somewhere deep in their black hearts, they know this is wrong, and they’re trying to cover up what they’re doing because they know it’s just not publicly acceptable in this country.”

As with prior flights, Manager of Airport Administration Amber Goodspeed said, Massport has been in the dark about recent federal government operations. 

Massport manages Hanscom, which is considered a general aviation airport. Given that, Goodspeed said, nobody is required to ask permission to use Hanscom. “We can’t tell users that they can’t come in.”

Beyond that, she said, “It’s pretty typical of a general aviation airport to not know who’s on any of these aircraft that are coming in and going out.” 

State Rep. Simon Cataldo (D-Acton) said he was aware of reports that ICE is using Hanscom. 

As Trump pushes to ramp up raids, Cataldo called on Congress and the Trump administration “to recognize that ICE has shown itself to be unable to operate at this pace responsibly.” 

Officials should respond accordingly, Cataldo said in a statement, and focus on people “who actually pose a threat to our residents’ safety.”

More protests?

Acton Indivisible convened the Harvey Wheeler huddle, and Hirschler said organizers had to add chairs to accommodate the audience.

“It was an overflow crowd,” she said. 

ICE has made its presence felt in the area, including when agents detained two people outside Acton police headquarters last month.

While Massport officials deny knowledge of Hanscom ICE flights and say they have no recourse, Cartwright and Hirschler suggested they might face pushback alongside private companies who service ICE-contracted planes. Hirschler said she expects more protests.