HARRISBURG – Senator Doug Mastriano (PA-33) has looked further into the issue of the Biden Administration sending illegal immigrants to Pennsylvania shortly after their apprehension at the southern border.
The “ghost” flights in the middle of the night to Lehigh Valley last month are far from the only transit flights that ICE has sent to PA this year.
According to the U.S Department of Homeland Security, ICE conducted over 900 domestic flights of illegal immigrants around the U.S in 2021. One of the destination cities was identified as Harrisburg, PA. ICE also conducted at least 11 “transfer” flights into Philadelphia. It’s unknown how many passengers were on each flight and the final destination for each passenger.
DHS has also issued “Notices to Appear” in court for over 250 illegal immigrants released in the Philadelphia area.
Additionally, according to a forthcoming report from the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), ICE has failed to ensure migrants are tested for COVID-19 before transport on flights and has not maintained records for the illegals who are transported.
“I think these findings are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Senator Mastriano. “We need to further examine the total number of illegal immigrants being sent to PA by plane and bus. We also need to look at how much this is costing taxpayers and if Governor Wolf and Attorney General Shapiro were notified of the flights beforehand. Did they decline to inform the public?”
Senator Mastriano is a co-sponsor of legislation by Senator Mario Scavello that will initiate a program to send newly arriving illegal immigrants to the state of Delaware.
The below findings emanate from a DHS response to inquiries from U.S Senator Ron Johnson.
ICE Air Operations, Domestic Transfers and Flights FY 2021:
| Domestic Transfer Flights | 938 |
| Non-citizens Transferred | 51,750 |
FY 2021 ICE Air Operations, Cities Transited:
| Abilene, TX | Las Vegas, NV |
| Albuquerque, NM | Del Rio, TX |
| Alexandria, LA | Mesa, AZ |
| Birmingham | Miami, FL |
| Brownsville, TX | Minneapolis, MN |
| Buffalo, NY | Newark, NJ |
| Columbus, GA | Omaha, NE |
| Dallas, TX | Portland, OR |
| El Paso, TX | Richmond, VA |
| Gary, IN | San Antonio, TX |
| Harrisburg, PA | San Diego, CA |
| Houston, TX | Toledo, OH |
| Jacksonville, FL | Tucson, AZ |
| Kansas City, MO | Victorville, CA |
| Laredo, TX | Wichita, KS |
FY 2021 ICE Domestic Transfer Flights:
| Atlanta | 55 |
| Baltimore | 37 |
| Boston | 11 |
| Buffalo | 11 |
| Chicago | 27 |
| Dallas | 43 |
| Denver | 36 |
| Detroit | 35 |
| El Paso | 20 |
| Houston | 5 |
| Los Angeles | 132 |
| Miami | 35 |
| New Orleans | 4 |
| New York | 17 |
| Newark | 87 |
| Philadelphia | 11 |
| Phoenix | 23 |
| Salt Lake City | 18 |
| San Antonio | 44 |
| San Diego | 28 |
| San Francisco | 165 |
| Seattle | 55 |
| St. Paul | 20 |
| Washington | 18 |
| Grand Total | 915 |
Notice to Appear (NTAs) Issued by AOR, Releases Between March 21, 2021 and August 31, 2021:
| Atlanta | 707 |
| Baltimore | 68 |
| Boston | 1,177 |
| Buffalo | 63 |
| Chicago | 1,164 |
| Dallas | 950 |
| Denver | 379 |
| Detroit | 203 |
| El Paso | 20 |
| Harlingen | 7 |
| Houston | 195 |
| Los Angeles | 986 |
| Miami | 460 |
| New Jersey | 2,450 |
| New Orleans | 860 |
| New York City | 2,613 |
| Philadelphia | 254 |
| Phoenix | 59 |
| Seattle | 365 |
| San Francisco | 447 |
| Salt Lake City | 405 |
| San Antonio | 718 |
| San Diego | 113 |
| St. Paul | 447 |
| Washington | 1,203 |
| Grand Total | 16,293 |
CONTACT: senatormastriano@pasen.gov