'ICE OUT' coalition says arrests at the Philly airport must stop. The agency says it's going full speed ahead.
Campaign leaders say what's started as public awareness could escalate into financial pressure on companies that do business at the airport
ICE says it’s going full speed ahead on immigration arrests, including at Philadelphia International Airport.
Airport officials say there’s nothing they can do about it.
And the ICE OUT of PHL Airport Coalition, composed of 60-some advocacy, labor, and political leaders, said loudly on Thursday that the situation must change.
The group formally announced its intention to try to stop ICE from arresting immigrant travelers in Philadelphia during a late-afternoon news conference, with people gathered at Terminal E Departures.
They say that what is beginning as a public-awareness campaign could escalate into exerting financial pressure on companies that do business at the airport.
About 60 protesters gathered Thursday afternoon under the watchful eye of a phalanx of Philadelphia police, holding up a big banner that said: “No Fly Zone. ICE doesn’t fly at PHL. Stop the detentions.”
They handed out imitation paper boarding passes that listed the destination as, “Protecting our immigrant neighbors.”
Others held cardboard airplanes that were marked, “End ICE collaboration.” They chanted, “ICE Out!,” with the return call of “PHL!”
Some airport workers stepped outside to see what the commotion was about.
“We stand in solidarity with you,” City Council President Kenyatta Johnson told the crowd, calling the heavy police presence “overkill,” and criticizing ICE for “occupying the people’s airport.”
Councilmember Rue Landau said Philadelphia is a city of immigrants, one “that believes everyone deserves to live with dignity, safety, and respect.”
She said the words on the airport sign must ring true, “Welcome to Philadelphia.”
Vivian Chang, executive director of Asian Americans United, demanded that airport leadership meet with the group before Thanksgiving, describing the day as a particularly risky time for immigrant travelers.
At least 50 immigrant travelers, young and old, mostly female, some of them parents of young children, have been arrested at the airport since July, according to the coalition.
Organizers believe the South Philadelphia airport has become one of the riskiest places in the region for noncitizens, where work authorizations, pending petitions for relief, and other types of immigration permissions have proven no barrier against arrest.
Support for the campaign has continued to expand during the last week, now topping more than 60 organizations and political leaders.
It includes the Association of Flight Attendants - CWA, 32BJ SEIU, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, UNITE HERE Local 274, and the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The campaign counts six Philadelphia City Council members among its supporters — Kenyatta Johnson, Kendra Brooks, Nicolas O’Rourke, Rue Landau, Nina Ahmad, and Jamie Gauthier, along with Pennsylvania State Rep. Rick Krajewski and Sen. Nikil Saval.
The campaign comes as a response to President Donald Trump’s push for mass deportations ― including the targeting of immigrant travelers at airports around the country.
Immigrants who long thought they were safe, and who had previously been allowed to fly, now are at risk, in some cases finding themselves suddenly surrounded by agents and shipped to far-off detention centers in places like New Mexico.
The South Philadelphia airport is owned and operated by the city, which recently passed extensive “ICE Out” legislation to try to limit agency activities within Philadelphia.
Sam Scavuzzo, chief of staff for the city law department, said in an earlier statement, however, that “federal law enforcement access to particular areas of the airport is governed by federal law.”
The number of those arrested could actually be higher than reported, as the known cases represent only people who reached out to lawyers or community organizations. Immigrant travelers without those connections may simply have disappeared into detention.
When asked about the airport campaign last week, a spokesperson for Homeland Security said: “Our message remains: ICE is NOT slowing down. Enforcing federal immigration law is the responsibility of federal law enforcement. This administration does not ignore the rule of law and DHS will not pick and choose which laws we enforce.”
DHS said it had “reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country. Under President Trump, DHS will no longer tolerate this. This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport.”
Philadelphia airport officials said earlier that the facility “is subject to federal regulation, and federal agents have broad access to airport property,” including pre- and post-security areas in the terminals, the customs offices and screening area, the airfield, and public spaces like parking ramps and lots.
Airport officials cannot interfere with law enforcement operations by federal agencies, including ICE, officials said in a statement. They do not receive advance notice of immigration-related actions and cannot “confirm cases, incidents, or speculation about immigration enforcement activities.”
The coalition is calling for airport leadership to ban ICE from entering airport property without a judicial warrant, to prohibit airport employees from assisting ICE, and to bar ICE from using city-owned airport spaces to stage arrests.
They want the airport to publish regular public reports documenting ICE activity, including the number of people detained and the airlines they intended to fly.
They also want airlines that use the Philadelphia airport to bar ICE agents from going to flight gates, and to not share passenger information with the agency. They’re asking airport concession companies to not discipline workers when they miss work due to fear of ICE activity.
