On Wednesday, the Wayne County Airport Authority board voted 7-0 to keep flights carrying immigrant detainees moving through the county’s airports, including Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Willow Run Airport. In the same move, the board signed off on a three-page statement that promises continued cooperation with federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies while also affirming a commitment to protecting constitutional rights.
Board vote and statement
The unanimous decision followed a tense public meeting where activists, attorneys and residents urged the authority to cut off ICE-related transfers. According to the Detroit Free Press, the statement adopted by the board presents continued cooperation with law enforcement as official policy, even as it reiterates the authority’s pledge to uphold constitutional protections.
Wayne County Airport Authority CEO Chad Newton has told the board that the authority does not sign contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and that operational arrangements are handled between carriers and federal partners, reporting by WDET shows. The authority has maintained that it is obligated to provide aeronautical services to licensed operators as long as flights comply with legal and safety requirements, a position that leaves little room for symbolic standstills.
Flight data and national context
Human Rights First’s ICE Flight Monitor recorded a notable spike in deportation and domestic-transfer flights in 2025, turning some previously quiet charter and cargo hubs into regular launchpads for detainee movements. As detailed by Human Rights First, the data point to a broad national expansion of ICE Air operations that has sparked friction in communities far beyond southeast Michigan.
Local tracking and reporting show Willow Run was used repeatedly last year for detainee transfers. Michigan Advance documented 88 outbound ICE-related flights from Willow Run in 2025 and identified contractors including Key Lime Air and Eastern Air Express as operators. Those figures have become Exhibit A for community groups pressing the authority to step in.
Protests and public pressure
In recent meetings, demonstrators and local organizations pushed the board to block the flights altogether, arguing the region’s airports should not serve as a deportation pipeline. “A lot of people on these flights have not had a chance at due process,” Savi Arvey of Human Rights First told WXYZ, a concern that fueled organizing, public comment and protests around the hearings.
Legal questions ahead
Legal scholars and policy experts warned that counties and other partners could face civil claims if detainee transfers occur without due process, or if people are harmed while in custody. The potential for legal exposure and civil suits surfaced repeatedly in public comment and in coverage of the dispute, as Michigan Advance reported…