Romulus — About 50 people gathered near Detroit Metro Airport Saturday to protest Avelo Airlines, which recently agreed to operate deportation flights for the federal government.
The protest on the corner of Middlebelt and Wick road was organized by two local groups, Western Wayne Indivisible and Indivisible: Downriver United 734. It was one of dozens of similar events planned near airports across the country.
It is unclear if Avelo has operated deportation flights out of Detroit Metro, but several protesters said their event was more about speaking out against the Trump administration’s actions.
“It’s the principle,” said Jessica Schering, one of the co-founders of Downriver United 734 chapter of the national group Indivisible. “First the public was told that the administration was going to focus on hardcore criminals but that’s not what is happening,” Schering said. “It’s families being split apart. It’s young children being denied medicine they need to live.”
Schering was referring to a case in California where the Trump administration has allegedly revoked permission for a 4-year-old Mexican girl who receives lifesaving medical care from a California hospital to stay in the country, attorneys for the family told the media earlier this week. The Trump administration hasn’t commented on that case.
In April, Houston-based Avelo, a budget airline, signed an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to use some of its aircraft to charter deportation flights.
The deal has sparked protests nationwide, an online boycott petition and criticism from the union representing the carrier’s flight attendants. The union cited the difficulty of evacuating deportees from an aircraft in an emergency within the federal standard of 90 seconds or less.
A spokeswoman for Avelo said in a Friday statement to The News that it wasn’t “authorized” to comment on “specific contract information” with DHS.
“The safety and well-being of our Crewmembers (employees), Customers and all individuals involved is our highest priority,” wrote the Avelo spokeswoman. “While we recognize the right of individuals to peacefully assemble, Avelo’s main priority will continue to be maintaining the safety and timeliness of our operation.”
Ashley Perry of Riverview co-founded the downriver Indivisible chapter earlier this year and since then it has grown to 875 members, she said.
“There have been so many concerns about the lack of due process in deportations,” Perry said. “We have a right to know how our taxpayer money is spent.”
DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t respond to requests for comments on Friday.
laguilar@detroitnews.com
Associated Press contributed to this report.
