U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can continue using a Seattle airport for chartered deportation flights in a win for incoming President-elect Trump’s administration, a federal appeals court ruled.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling rejected a 2019 local executive order that sought to counter then-President Trump’s immigration policies, saying that King County, Washington violated its contract by prohibiting deportations at King County International Airport, which is also known as Boeing Field.
The court ruled that the order was unlawful because it discriminated against ICE and targeted federal operations. In 2019, Trump used Boeing Fields to deport illegal migrants from the U.S. and the local county sought to block the president’s removal operations.
The order prompted ICE to begin using an airport in Yakima, Washington — a much longer drive from ICE’s Northwest detention center— for the deportation flights.
“The relocation increased operational costs due to the greater distance from ICE detention facilities to the airport. It also led to increased security concerns,” the ruling noted.
In response, a legal battle with King County ensued. The U.S. in 2020 sued the county, alleging that it violated the terms of a World War II-era contract that guarantees the federal government’s right to use the airport along with discriminating against ICE.
In a ruling on Friday, Nov. 30, 9th Circuit Judge Daniel A. Bress upheld the court’s decision. In the ruling, obtained by Fox News Digital, he wrote that, “this is not a situation in which King County officials are being conscripted into carrying out federal immigration laws on the federal government’s behalf.”
“Instead, the United States is asking King County, in its capacity as the owner of a public airport facility, to lift a discriminatory prohibition on private parties’ ability to engage in business with the federal government that supports federal immigration efforts,” the ruling states.
The new order also calls for transparency around any deportation flights.
The airport now offers a conference room where the public can observe deportation flights on a video feed, and the county posts a log of deportation flights from the airport on its website.
The ruling is a win for the incoming Trump administration. The president-elect has vowed to initiate deportation efforts on his first day back in office.
His promise was cemented by his pick of “border czar,” Tom Homan.
“If you don’t want to work with us, then get the hell out all the way. We’re going to do it,’ Homan recently said.
Trump’s election has prompted blue city officials to voice their opposition against Trump’s deportation efforts. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said that he is prepared to go to jail in opposition to Trump’s plans.
The governors of Illinois, Arizona and Massachusetts have said that they also won’t assist the administration in the operation.
In Illinois, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker promised to uphold sanctuary status, boldly declaring, “If you come for my people, you come through me.”
Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said her state will not be helping in what she called a “misguided” plan.
“What I will unequivocally say is that, as governor, I will not tolerate efforts that are part of misguided policies that harm our communities, that threaten our communities, that terrorize our communities, and Arizona will not take part in those,” Hobbs said.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey insisted that Massachusetts state police would “absolutely not” help the Trump administration’s planned deportations.
