ROMULUS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Immigration enforcement flights from a local airport have sparked pushback from some Detroit-area activists who are calling on county officials to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using Willow Run Airport for detainee transport.
At a Wayne County Airport Authority board meeting, multiple advocacy groups spoke out against ICE's use of the airport near Ypsilanti, demanding officials prevent the federal agency from chartering flights to transport detainees to detention centers.
Watch Brett Kast's video report below:
According to the national nonprofit Human Rights First, ICE chartered nearly 100 flights to transport detainees out of Willow Run Airport in just the last year. The organization monitors ICE flights using publicly available flight data and found that flights involving ICE jumped 84% nationwide in 2025.
"What we've seen over the past year is a huge increase of ICE flights out of Michigan," Savi Arvey with Human Rights First said.
The flights first began at Willow Run in May, and at least 96 flights have transported detainees from the airport, according to the organization's research.
“I think of great concern with all of these flights from Human Rights First's perspective is a lot of people on these flights have not had a chance at due process, they have not seen a judge and had an immigration hearing necessarily,” Arvey said.
Steve Conn with the Detroit Committee to Stop ICE said activists have an obligation to challenge the practice.
"We have an obligation, I say, to this board to stop it, to expose it, to challenge it, not to participate in it — it's got to stop," Conn said. “The people of Wayne County don't want the airports participating in this.”
The protests come after weeks of demonstrations against ICE in metro Detroit following the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Arvey said the flights are private charter flights subcontracted by ICE using multiple airlines. ICE provided a statement that says in part:
“This is nothing more than a tired tactic to abolish ICE by proxy. Attacks and demonization of ICE and our partners is wrong. ICE officers are now facing a 1300% increase in assaults against them. For operational security purposes, we are not going to confirm what airports are deportation flights are operating out of.
"Our brave law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to arrest pedophiles, rapists, murderers, drug traffickers, and gang members. 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. This statistic doesn’t even count human rights abuses, wanted foreign fugitives, terrorists, and gang members who lack a rap sheet in the U.S."
Related video: ICE Director Todd Lyons calls on state officials to cooperate with federal immigration surge
The Wayne County Airport Authority said in a statement that it "does not have any involvement in agreements between airlines and their partners, including federal agencies, as long as those agreements meet legal and safety requirements."
Local aviation attorney Mark Schwartz said the airport authority's hands are tied as the airport accepts federal funds.
“The Wayne County Airport Authority has little authority to stop these ICE flights,” Schwartz said. "The airport cannot discriminate against any users, regardless of how the board may feel or the authority may feel about the purpose of the flights.”
Related video: US citizen says ICE held him at gunpoint, led him outside in underwear
Heather Smiley is a chairperson for the Wayne 6 Congressional District Republican Committee, and will be running for Congress against against current Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who represents the area near Willow Run.
“ICE flights have been going on since May of last year, so I'm kind of surprise people are protesting now because they've been going on for quite a while,” said Smiley. "If you look at the broader picture, President Trump is trying to protect our communities and the people in our communities and beyond that, our American jobs. So I know there's a lot of emotion around it, but if you look at their criminal records... everyone is trying to keep our communities safe."
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