Deportees remain at NH airport after being stuck on blizzard-grounded ICE plane for 14 hours
The Omni jet holding deportees, federal agents, and ICE-contracted guards left Harlingen, Tx., Sunday night, likely bound for Asia.
Migrants remained at a New Hampshire airport early Tuesday after being trapped on a blizzard-grounded ICE deportation plane for 14 hours. A state lawmaker who attempted to visit the migrants said federal officials had "effectively locked the airport down."
"Detainees are being provided catered meals, continuous access to drinking water, and appropriate restroom facilities for the duration of the delay," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an emailed statement late Monday. The spokesperson did not answer questions about how many people were onboard the plane or if the migrants remained shackled inside the terminal.
The spokesperson also said a "projected departure window is anticipated around midnight" and the flight would attempt to depart, "pending completion of required crew rest and final operational coordination." That attempt appears to have failed, according to public flight data.
The Boeing 767 operated by Omni Air International left Harlingen, Tx., at 9:13 p.m. ET on Sunday night and landed just after 1 a.m. Monday, flight data shows. It was scheduled to stop in Portsmouth before flying to Sofia, Bulgaria, but the airport was closed due to the blizzard hitting the northeast. Both cities are regular refueling stops for Omni's deportation routes to Asia.
After being alerted by activist flight trackers to the presence of a likely ICE flight at the airport, another state representative, Seth Miller, who is also an aviation journalist, confirmed migrants were trapped on the plane on the tarmac.
The aircraft's APU (auxiliary power unit) remained on to provide heat for the passengers, and caterers had provided them with food, Miller told me on Bluesky. It is unclear if a waste management truck was able to service the aircraft.
The plane was towed to an auxiliary terminal at about 2:45 p.m. after airport crews were able to clear a path for it.
FWIW, here's roughly what the overhead view of that scene would be, with the plane parked on the ramp and an approximation of where the photo was taken from. They've done things in the past to make monitoring the flights difficult. I don't believe the snow pile is one of them.
— Seth Miller (@wandrme.paxex.aero) 2026-02-23T22:39:17.391Z
All adults and some children on ICE flights are shackled at the wrists and ankles attached to a chain around their waists for the duration of the flight. Shackling for more than a few hours can cause fatal blood clots, permanent nerve damage, bruising, chafing, swelling and excruciating pain, a medical expert told me for a Mother Jones story about Omni Air International published last month.
There are generally 190-200 migrants, 3-6 federal agents and 30+ GEO Group guards onboard Omni's deportation flights, according to past interviews with migrants subjected to them and three former Omni flight attendants.
Airport officials told WMUR they only learned of the inbound Omni aircraft 15 minutes before it landed, and had they known about it earlier, they would have "encouraged them to divert to another airport not being impacted by this severe winter storm." This was likely the seventh Omni ICE flight to land in Portsmouth so far this year, according to my analysis of public flight data. Another likely ICE flight operated by Omni the previous day sat on the tarmac for 7 1/2 hours before returning to Alexandria, La., for reasons unclear, though flight data indicates it may have had a mechanical issue.
In 2017, migrants on an Omni deportation flight stuck in Dakar, Senegal, for more than 24 hours made international news after they said they were starved, beaten, tied up, and threatened by federal agents and guards, and, when the lavs filled up, forced to relieve themselves in bottles or on themselves. The aircraft eventually had to return to the United States, where the passengers sued. At least one of the migrant passengers, Sa'id Abdi Janale, had to get surgery for injuries resulting from a beating.
Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the Portsmouth airport as "Pease International Airport." It is Portsmouth International Airport at Pease.
Thank you for reading. I am a former Washington Post staff writer, and as far as I know, I’m the only journalist in America covering ICE flights full time. I am committed to keeping this reporting non-paywalled, but if you are able, please sign up for a paid subscription or send me a one-time tip, so I can continue this important work. –Gillian
