Some rather dramatic news emerged earlier this January that an airline that has been working with the government to conduct deportation flights out of the country has suspended its agreement with the agency. Avelo Airlines has announced it will no longer be conducting the travel arrangements it had been performing out of Arizona’s Mesa Gateway Airport for the Immigration and Customs Service.
Upon hearing this announcement, the press has been rather giddy in detailing the cessation of this partnership.
Since publicizing its new business arrangement in April, the low-fare carrier faced protests, boycotts, and backlash from travelers, flight attendant unions, local politicians and immigration activists.
Adding to the excitement was CBS News, which tried to suggest that this move had been made in light of that opposition.
Mesa's charter program has sparked public backlash and protests against its decision to work with ICE. The Indivisible Project, a nonprofit group that led protests against Avelo Airlines, on Thursday applauded the carrier's move to end its contract with DHS.
This appears to be more of a case of puffery from this protest group. Avelo is a small carrier operating out of Houston that mostly services smaller connections with cities not normally serviced by the larger airlines. Rather than being a prominent partner with ICE, it was, in truth, being subcontracted to perform this service. The Department of Homeland Security has an arrangement with another entity, CSI Aviation, which orchestrated the flight agreements with a number of carriers, Avelo being but one of those companies.
Business realignment appears to be more of a motivator for moving from this service agreement. The CEO of Avelo sent notice to employees that the upstart company was not realizing enough benefit from the agreement. “The program provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs,” he announced in the corporate email.
More than terminating the agreement with ICE, the company is closing its Mesa operations and has been making several other moves in the name of sustainability. It is eliminating some of its commercial routes, closing some of its operating locations, and returning half a dozen of its Boeing jets. Additionally, the CEO said the company has recently secured additional funding, placing the airline in its best financial position, and the company is going ahead with plans to expand into the Dallas area later this year.
A corporate spokesperson stated the protests were not a factor in the decision, and the carrier experienced a company record amount of travelers in 2025. Avelo showed double-digit growth in travelers on its commercial flights.
Business realities will likely have no impact on the protestors, who feel they were the impetus for the company closing its contract for the deportations. “After months of plummeting sales and canceled commercial flights, Avelo was forced to walk away from contracts that harmed immigrant families and destabilized workers — and it's sales," Indivisible co-executive director Ezra Levin said in a statement.
This will only serve to motivate the activists to continue with their opposition in this manner. One thing that has been quite evident when it comes to protestors in the Trump 2.0 era is that realities and facts do very little in dissuading them from their impotent outrage.
A WIN!: Avelo Airlines announced it will no longer participate in deportation flights.
— 50501 (@50501News) January 7, 2026
When communities organize, boycott, and protest, corporations listen. Our resistance is powerful! https://t.co/IJlG0UBLxd pic.twitter.com/iS5UFnUJI0
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