As the morning light washed over the tarmac of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, a chorus of dissent rose sharply against the harrowing whisper of jets above. The protest, a gathering orchestrated by the Baltimore Rapid Response Network in conjunction with other local advocacy groups, swelled with demands to cease deportation flights operated by Avelo Airlines, which is under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). More than 5,000 signatures backing their cause have been amassed, as reported by WMAR-2 News. Ryan Harvey, a representative from the network, made their stance unequivocally clear: "We feel like putting somebody on an airplane that they can't leave is a form of detention and it's happening at our airport and we want it to stop."
The call to action reverberated through the protest ranks, urging Governor Wes Moore to sever ties with Avelo Airlines, an undertaking considered feasible as the contract reportedly allows a 30-day notice cancellation. Despite the burgeoning petition and public outcry, the Governor's office has taken a measured approach. A statement reported by WBAL-TV indicated, "We are aware of reporting on health and safety issues aboard flights conducting deportation operations from other airports, and are assessing all available options to ensure any such flights using BWI facilities are being operated safely and lawfully."
Digging deeper, activists have voiced concerns over the opaque nature of Avelo's operations – secrecy that stonewalls the pursuit of transparency and accountability. Indivisible, a prominent participant in the demonstration, backed by several local organizations, marched in unison to express their disapproval of Avelo's role. They highlighted the airline's substantial $150 million contract with the federal government to conduct these deportation flights. "There's a small percentage of the population that could be considered the worst of the worst, but without data coming out from them, that's difficult to determine," Jennifer from Indivisible informed WBAL-TV.
