The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), which manages the state’s airports, has been lying to locals about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations at Hanscom Air Field, an airport that partially resides in Lexington.
Massport has held strong that it does not receive advanced notice of ICE flights operating out of Hanscom Airfield to inquiring locals.
Through a public records request, a local activist, who wishes to remain anonymous, uncovered emails that prove Massport has, in fact, received advanced information about ICE flights.
“Massport owes the Commonwealth information about these operations, and the fact that they lied…shows that they are afraid of public reaction,” Toby Sackton, organizer of the pro-democracy protest group Lexington Alarm!, argued in a recent blog post.
Members of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission (HFAC) have sought transparency on ICE flights out of Hanscom several times over the past year. HFAC’s role is to be a liaison between residents in the communities surrounding Hanscom and Massport to communicate issues of public interest regarding how the airport is managed.
In the past, they’ve discussed issues centered around noise, pollution, and air field expansion to accommodate more private jets. In 2025, HFAC added ‘transparency about ICE flights out of Hanscom’ to its list of discussion topics.
Margaret Coppe, chair of HFAC, asked Richard Davey, CEO of Massport, for information on ICE flights out of Hanscom in a letter on Sept. 17. That wasn’t the Committee’s first attempt to learn more about ICE flights from Massport, just one of the most recent.
Christopher Willenborg, Massport’s director of Hanscom Field, replied to HFAC on behalf of Davey on Sept. 24. His letter states, “airport representatives do not receive advance notification of ICE flight activity, as these are federal operations.”
The uncovered emails prove that’s not true, however.
“Here is the info we received on the ICE charter flights scheduled for this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon,” Anthony Caruso, a general manager with Signature Aviation (an airfield operation services provider at Hanscom) wrote to Willenborg and Keith Leonhardt, an operations and maintenance manager with Massport, on Sept. 5. Flight information was attached to that email.
ICE flights had been operating out of the local airport since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, but were briefly moved to Portsmouth International Airport at Pease in New Hampshire this summer. ICE flights out of Hanscom resumed in September. That is when the local activist, who is part of an ICE task force with Lexington Alarm!, filed the public records request.
The activist asked Massport for a list of chartered flights out of Hanscom, its contract with Signature Aviation, and any emails between Signature Aviation and Massport that reference ICE.
Massport fulfilled their first two requests, but not the third. The activist appealed their request to the state secretary’s office. They agreed the request was legit and ordered Massport to produce the requested emails.
Lexington Alarm! and HFAC members want Massport and Hanscom to be transparent about ICE operations at Hanscom.
“I have been among those who have been angered by the brutality with which the detention policies have been carried out and have questioned their legality. But, it has been unclear how or if Massport could intervene,” Barbara Katzenberg, who represents Lexington on HFAC, wrote to the Observer. The uncovered emails clarify to her that “Massport has not been fully transparent about what they know and don’t know about these flights.”
HFAC has tried to open lines of communication with the Boston ICE office in Burlington on several occasions, too, but they have not reciprocated. Coppe invited James Covington, a Boston ICE spokesperson, to join HFAC’s Nov. 18 meeting twice so the committee can share its concerns about local ICE flights with him. She has not received a response.
Unfortunately, Massport’s history includes periods of exclusion and limited transparency that had real and lasting consequences. Decisions made over many decades contributed to the displacement of working-class families and communities of color, and to the loss of generational wealth—particularly for Descendants of American Slavery. The housing insecurity rooted in those past actions continues to shape our region today.
I also know that Massport includes many dedicated public servants, and I sincerely hope they will be part of a meaningful shift toward greater accountability, equity, and community partnership going forward. There is no reason to obfuscate on what should be public information.
I am deeply grateful to the activists who continue to devote their time, energy, and personal comfort to this work when they could choose otherwise. Their perseverance and integrity are a reminder of what it takes to build a more just future, and they inspire me to keep going another day.
Thank you for these down to earth and professionally written reports. They will become of our history.