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Residents tell council hundreds of detained migrants have been flown through Pease; callers urge action
Summary
Several public commenters said ICE charter flights have moved over 400 people through Pease International Airport since Aug. 5, described shackling and transfers, and urged the Portsmouth City Council to investigate and act; council did not take immediate formal action.
Multiple residents used the Portsmouth City Council public-comment period on Monday to say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flights have been moving large numbers of detainees through Pease International Airport and to urge city officials to investigate and intervene.
Resident Sarah Cornell told the council that since Aug. 5 roughly 400 people had been transported through Pease, arriving in 43 vans and on about 12 flights, and that some detainees — including children — were shackled before boarding. "They have been moved through your jurisdiction," Cornell said, and added that groups at Pease who record the transfers had counted flights to destinations including Chicago, Richmond and Harlingen, Texas.
Other speakers provided similar accounts. Klein Dickens told the council organizers had witnessed detainees who did not know where they were being taken and who "yelled out the phone numbers of their loved ones and lawyers." Several speakers asked the city to follow through on a council resolution passed Aug. 4 that the speakers said recognized residents’ due-process rights. "Since that rousing speech and solemn resolution, you have allowed about 400 people to be disappeared from Pease and sent to camps," Dickens said.
Speakers named local entities and companies in their descriptions: they said Pease Development Authority staff and Port City Air — the fixed-base operator at Pease — assisted incoming flights and, in some instances, staff handled shackles and ushered detainees into secure areas. Those claims came from public commentators and were not established at the meeting by city staff.
Councilors did not take formal action on the matter during the meeting; several councilors and the mayor listened to public comment. Public-safety officials did not present an operational response during the meeting. Several speakers suggested the council use its oversight or public-record tools, and asked for clearer reporting and engagement from the city and port authorities.
Ending: Councilors heard repeated, graphic public testimony alleging large-scale ICE operations at Pease and requests for official follow-up. The city manager and staff did not announce any immediate investigatory action at Monday’s meeting; speakers said they will seek further public accountability.
