Airline’s deportation deal with ICE sparks protests and boycott campaign, leading to First Amendment battle

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A New Hampshire state lawmaker filed a federal lawsuit against an airline over billboards he created that criticized its contract with immigration authorities, accusing the airline of violating his Free Speech rights. The lawsuit has helped fuel boycotts and protests against the airline. 

Key Players

Avelo, a commercial airline, operates low-cost passenger service between small regional airports in the United States. It also offers flights to international destinations, including the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Mexico. 

State Rep. Seth Miller, whose district encompasses Strafford, was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2024. He is also an independent aviation blogger.

Further Details

In April 2025, Avelo announced it had signed a contract with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to facilitate deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

While acknowledging that it was “a sensitive and complicated topic,” Andrew Levy, the airline’s founder and CEO, said the deal was necessary to keep the company financially viable.

Between eight and 10 flights carrying migrants within the United States and abroad were scheduled to begin on May 14, out of the Mesa Gateway Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, where ICE has a key hub for air operations. Avelo claimed to have carried out deportation flights even before President Donald Trump’s return to office, under former President Joe Biden. 

Tom Cartwright, an immigrant rights advocate who is part of a group that monitors ICE operations, said he had “never seen a retail airline that sells to consumers” participate in deportations. The unexpectedness of a commercial airline’s participation in ICE procedures, combined with heightened tensions around Trump’s controversial immigration policies, fueled national outrage.

Activist groups, including the New Haven Immigrants Coalition and Gen-Z for Change, launched campaigns to pressure Avelo to end its contract. In late April 2025, hundreds of people protested the contract outside of Tweed New Haven Airport, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

“To the president of Avelo: You really stepped in it,” Blumenthal said. “You made a bad mistake.”

Other Democratic leaders condemned the airline. State legislators in Connecticut and New York introduced proposals to withdraw support, including tax breaks, from companies that collaborate with ICE.

The immigration agency, meanwhile, released a statement describing the backlash against Avelo as “nothing more than a tired tactic to abolish ICE by proxy.”

Miller’s billboards provoke Avelo’s lawyers

In April 2025, Miller presented the idea of an Avelo boycott on social media, raising nearly $6,000 to pay for billboards outside of Tweed Airport. 

The advertisements, which went up on May 5, featured a modified Avelo logo and the message “Does your vacation support their deportation? Just say AvelNO!”

Four days later, Miller received a letter from the airline’s attorney, accusing him of trademark infringement and unfair competition. Avelo claimed that the billboards created “instances of actual confusion” among customers who mistakenly believed the message was affiliated with the airline. The company demanded that Miller remove the billboards and an associated website, or face legal action.

Lamar Advertising, the billboard operator, received a similar letter from Avelo and took down the ads to avoid a legal challenge.

Outcome

Miller files lawsuit

On May 14, an Avelo flight departed from Arizona to Texas, and then to La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Available flight data confirmed it departed from a tarmac used by ICE, but could not confirm if migrants were transported. 

Two days later, Miller filed a federal lawsuit against Avelo in U.S. District Court for Nevada, where the airline is incorporated. Miller asked the court to affirm that the boycott advertisement was a constitutional exercise of his First Amendment rights.

“I have the right to raise objections to their business actions, just as much as they have the right to advertise their business,” Miller said.

“The First Amendment protects Miller’s speech here, and the principle underlying that is that Avelo can make its own speech,” said Miller’s attorney. “Avelo is free to respond to Miller in the marketplace of ideas but is not free to use baseless threats of litigation to silence him.”

Protesters rally across the United States

On June 28, protesters gathered near Albany International Airport in New York, calling for an Avelo boycott. 

“We’re demanding that Avelo stop using taxpayer dollars to fund their own pockets and deport humans to places like El Salvador,” said Marianna Achlaoug, who co-chairs the Albany branch of Indivisible, a nonprofit that advocates for progressive policies.  

Protests also took place at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and on a highway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

“The goal is to send a message to Avelo Airlines that they’ve entered into a contract with the U.S. government of cruelty,” said a Fort Lauderdale demonstrator. “They’re deporting these immigrants without due process and that’s not what we do in the United States of America, so we want them to get the message, no other commercial airlines entered into this $150 million contract but Avelo and it’s wrong, and we’ll continue educating the public about this until they get the message, and they back out of the contract.”

As of July 2, 2025, there were no further developments.