Shackled migrants stuck on blizzard-grounded deportation plane for 14 hours; local officials blocked from visiting them

Migrants trapped onboard an ICE deportation plane in New Hampshire were inside the terminal Monday evening, according to a state lawmaker who attempted to visit the migrants. She was blocked from visiting them but said she was told by "a staff member they were being fed and kept warm inside the terminal."

"We were not able to visit them directly," NH State Rep. Alice Wade said in a social video. "ICE effectively locked the airport down."

An unknown number of shackled migrants, federal agents, and ICE-contracted guards were stuck on the Boeing 767 operated by Omni Air International for approximately 14 hours after it landed at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease at 1 a.m. ET Monday. The airport was closed due to the blizzard hitting the northeast. After being alerted by activist flight trackers to the presence of a likely ICE flight on Monday morning, another state representative, Seth Miller, who is also an aviation journalist, confirmed there were migrants onboard.

The Omni plane left Harlingen, Tx., at 9:13 p.m. ET on Sunday night, according to public flight data. It was scheduled to stop in Portsmouth before flying to Sofia, Bulgaria. Both are regular fuel stops for Omni's deportation routes to Asia.

The aircraft's APU (auxiliary power unit) remained on to provide heat for the passengers, and the FBO provided them with food, Miller told me on Bluesky. It is unclear if a waste management truck was able to service the aircraft.

The plane was towed to the terminal at about 2:45 p.m., airport officials told WMUR. It was unclear if the migrants were still shackled inside the terminal or if they were being provided with cots or other accommodations.

All adults and some children on ICE flights are shackled at the wrists and ankles attached to a chain around their waists for the duration of the flight. Shackling for more than a few hours can cause fatal blood clots, permanent nerve damage, bruising, chafing, swelling and excruciating pain, a medical expert told me for a Mother Jones story about Omni Air International published last month.

It remained unclear Monday night how many people had been let off of the plane. There are generally 190-200 migrants, 3-6 federal agents and 30+ GEO Group guards onboard, according to past interviews with migrants subjected to Omni ICE flights and three former Omni flight attendants.

Airport officials told WMUR they only learned of the inbound Omni aircraft 15 minutes before it landed, and had they known about it earlier, they would have "encouraged them to divert to another airport not being impacted by this severe winter storm." This was likely the seventh Omni ICE flight to land in Portsmouth so far this year, according to my analysis of public flight data. Another likely ICE flight operated by Omni the previous day sat on the tarmac for 7 1/2 hours before returning to Alexandria, La., for reasons unclear, though flight data indicates it may have had a mechanical issue.

"It sounds like they might be flying out tonight if the weather conditions get any better," State Rep. Wade said.

In 2017, migrants on an Omni deportation flight stuck in Dakar, Senegal, for more than 24 hours made international news after they said they were starved, beaten, tied up, and threatened by federal agents and guards, and, when the lavs filled up, forced to relieve themselves in bottles or on themselves. The aircraft eventually had to return to the United States, where the passengers sued. At least one of the migrant passengers, Sa'id Abdi Janale, had to get surgery for injuries resulting from a beating.

DHS and ICE did not respond to requests for comment. An on-duty airport official did not answers calls Monday afternoon, and his voicemail was full. Miller said when he called airport operations and asked about the flight, the person who answered hung up on him.

Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the Portsmouth airport as "Pease International Airport." It is Portsmouth International Airport at Pease.

Thank you for reading. I am a former Washington Post staff writer, and as far as I know, I’m the only journalist in America covering ICE flights full time. I am committed to keeping this reporting non-paywalled, but if you are able, please sign up for a paid subscription or send me a one-time tip, so I can continue this important work. –Gillian