Overview

Hanscom Field, a public-use airport in Bedford, Massachusetts (Middlesex County), has become a key ICE deportation flight hub for New England. Charter flights carry detainees from Massachusetts — primarily from Plymouth County Correctional Facility — to longer-term detention facilities and deportation staging points across the country.

Flight Activity

• 132 ICE flights departed Hanscom during Trump’s first year (updated count, early 2026) — Hanscom is the busiest airport in New England for ICE-chartered flights
• 13 flights in January 2026 alone
• 114+ flights had been documented through November 2025 — more than double the prior year
• ICE paused Hanscom use around July 2025, then resumed in September 2025 to support Operation Patriot 2.0
• At least 5 flights per week documented in mid-September 2025
• Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office transported 40+ detainees to Hanscom in one week (Sep 2025)
• Signature Aviation (the FBO operator at Hanscom) provides the ground access and logistical support — aircraft services, fueling, airfield access — that make the flights possible

Sources: Bedford Citizen — Hanscom commission considers options if info isn’t forthcoming (Apr 2026); Boston Globe — Hanscom advisory panel questions flights (Jan 2026); WBUR — ICE restarts flights at Hanscom

Government Response

• Governor Healey demanded ICE immediately stop using Massachusetts airports for deportation flights (December 2025)
• Hanscom Field Advisory Commission said ICE was “stonewalling” its questions about flight operations (December 2025)
• Massport stated it cannot legally discriminate against who uses the airport — federal government has right to use public airports
• January 2026: Healey called on airlines/charter operators to stop providing ICE deportation flights at Hanscom; Hanscom Field Advisory Commission questioned ICE flights and explored whether the federal government is violating state regulations
• March 9, 2026: Healey publicly named and called on Signature Aviation (a Florida-based company) to “cut ties with ICE” — “Enough is enough.” She also demanded private airlines stop deportation flights at taxpayer expense.
• April 2026: Hanscom Field Advisory Commission considered escalation options after ICE failed to provide requested flight information
• Healey says she is committed to ending Hanscom deportation flights and looking for legal avenues — legislative or executive order

Sources: Mass.gov — Healey calls on Signature Aviation to stop ICE flights; Boston Globe — Healey asks Florida company to stop deportation flights (Mar 9, 2026); WBUR — Healey calls on airlines (Jan 8, 2026)

Pipeline Role

Hanscom is the transportation node in the MA enforcement pipeline:

1. Arrest → Burlington processing → Plymouth County detention → Hanscom Field flights → out-of-state detention/deportation

Other New England airports also used: Portsmouth International (Pease, NH), Leahy Burlington International (VT), Tweed New Haven (CT).

Why It Matters

The Hanscom situation illustrates the legal complexity of the deportation pipeline — the airport authority says it cannot legally refuse federal flights, the governor demands ICE stop, and ICE claims operational necessity. This creates a democratic accountability gap where no single entity can shut down the pipeline. The flight infrastructure enables ICE to arrest people in Massachusetts’s sanctuary-leaning communities and rapidly transfer them to states with weaker protections.