Biden admin pressured US airports to house migrants despite safety warnings: Report
WASHINGTON, DC: A bombshell Senate report has revealed that former President Joe Biden’s administration pressured the airports in the US to house immigrants despite warnings that it could compromise safety and put travelers at risk.
The report has sparked a row, underscoring mounting tensions over the administration’s handling of immigration.
Report alleges Biden administration compromised airport security
‘Flight Risk’, a 47-page document released by the Senate Commerce Committee, alleges the White House directed the Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to find airport facilities for shelters or processing centers for migrants.
The report alleges that the administration instructed DOT and FAA to "inventory available facilities" at both federally owned and local airports and to "divert federal resources" to support migrant arrivals.
"The Biden-Harris administration made airports and aviation less secure," the report states. "By allowing and encouraging aliens to shelter at US airports, by allowing improperly vetted aliens to fly into and throughout the United States, and by diverting needed federal air marshals to the border."
Officials uneasy over airport shelters
According to the internal emails cited in the report, there were concerns among staff.
An FAA official wrote to Massport on October 6, 2023, "We have received a request from the White House to determine if there are available facilities on the airport or surrounding areas… This is an immediate ask, so please prioritize this effort."
Another DOT staffer responded candidly: "Yikes, this is definitely Fox News fodder in the making."
According to the committee’s findings, at least 11 airports, including Boston Logan, Chicago O’Hare, and New York’s JFK, were asked or pressured to house migrants inside terminals, hangars, or auxiliary buildings.
According to the report, FAA officials recognized that such use would usually need federal approval under grant-assurance rules.
Instead, they "ignored them most of the time when airports used their facilities to house aliens," per the report.
Airports raised safety alarms
"We are not designed or resourced to manage the intake of migrant populations… this would create a host of unintended safety and security consequences," Massport, which operates Boston Logan, warned federal counterparts.
The report says that, despite the warning, Logan hosted up to 352 migrants overnight in Terminal E, spending $779,000 on security, cleaning, and transportation.
900 migrants were sheltered in a shuttle terminal at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
Police logged 329 service calls and 26 arrests, including thefts, disorderly conduct, and a death investigation, between April 2023 and February 2024, according to the report.
Chicago officials acknowledged that "asylum seekers were not restricted to the staging area."
