regular posts
Lexington Alarm! has completed a research project on how Hanscom field was developed as an airport for small regional airplanes only, and how the use of large planes there by ICE may be illegal under Massachusetts laws and regulations. Use of Hanscom by commercial air service is limited to airplanes with 60 seats or less, and the ICE charters are clearly in violation of this.
The parallels are striking and undeniable. An unpopular, external military force shoots and kills protesters haranguing the officers, demanding they leave. Snowballs are thrown.
When Hanscom Airfield was first taken over by Massport, there was immense community opposition in Lexington, Concord, and surrounding towns because people did not want a major second Boston airport, as the infrastructure to support it was non-existent and it also would have changed the character of the Minuteman National Park, nearly an abutter.
The result was a compromise for a small regional airfield, where jets of more than 60 seats would not be allowed. This agreement, limiting commercial airlines to 60 seats, was codified into law in the act enabling Massport to acquire the airport in 1980. The FAA sued, saying that FAA rules preempted local airport authorities from restricting operations in this way. Massachusetts won.
An ICE agent in Minneapolis today shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37 year old mother of a six-year old, who lived with her partner in Minneapolis. Renee was a legal observer, and based on videos she stopped her car when other Ice vehicles blocked the street. Than another ICE vehicle, a truck with flashing lights, came up behind her car and Ice officers swarmed out, tried to open her door, terrified her, and as she was trying to leave, one of them pulled a gun and shot her in the face multiple times, killing her. Her wife was left sobbing on the sidewalk.
Lexington Alarm will have a table at the activator’s fair, sponsored by the Lexington Human Rights Commission, as part of the town’s activities to honor Dr. Martin Luther King. The activator fair is a way to connect people with activist organizations who are working for social justice.
Massachusetts is confronting a due-process crisis of statewide scale: an estimated 6% of the Commonwealth’s residents—about 442,000 people—are undocumented or live with an undocumented family member and are therefore vulnerable to immigration enforcement actions that often proceed without judicial warrants or bond hearings.
During the first year of Covid in 2020, about 5% of the Massachusetts population got infected. This galvanized the governor and legislature to action, and a number of emergency actions were initiated. Our current crisis demands the same response.
Immigration enforcement that violates basic legal rights puts 6% of the State’s population at risk, but our legislature is not acting like there is a crisis.
2026 will be the second year of Lexington Alarm!. it was exciting as we quickly came together around Patriots Day in 2025 to proclaim “No King, No Tyranny” and “In America, the Law is King” during the town celebrations. We quickly stuck a chord, distributing thousands signs, hosting large rallies and standouts, culminating in our Oct 18th No Kings Rally on the Battle Green, which was the 2nd largest in the state.
But now we face the Valley Forge Years, the “winter of our discontent”. Many of the worst aspects of what we feared came to pass. Some did not. Many institutions and media capitulated to non-confrontation rather than uphold the values they still believed in. There was also resistance. But above all, the same dark anti-democratic forces we feared retained and used their power. It is hard to maintain commitment and enthusiasm when you have to pick and choose your battles.
This meeting will give us a chance to reflect on our role in 2026. What should be our commitment. What should be our battles?
On December 12, Governor Maura Healey wrote to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE leadership denouncing the use of private charter flights at Hanscom Field to remove Massachusetts residents from the state.
The letter came after months of organizing, research, and sustained pressure from Lexington Alarm and other groups north and west of Boston who founded DE-ICE Hanscom, began weekly standouts at the entrance of the airport, and began a letter campaign to Governor Healey and Massport.
In her letter, Governor Healey wrote that ICE is using chartered aircraft at Hanscom to “quickly remove residents and sever them from their family, friends, and counsel without due process of law.” She emphasized that many of the people being detained and flown out of Massachusetts have no criminal convictions or charges, and that many are in the middle of lawful immigration processes through Massachusetts courts. She concluded “This is not the justice we believe in or stand for in Massachusetts. This practice must stop.”
The recent letter from Maura Healey demanding that ICE halt flights out of Hanscom and the Boston Globe article examining ICE flights from Hanscom Field was the result of months of organizing, research, and coalition-building by Lexington Alarm and allied groups across the region. Far from being a sudden media moment, the story reflected a growing public effort to bring transparency and accountability to the use of a Massachusetts state facility for immigration enforcement operations.
The issue first gained momentum after a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that Massport had knowledge of ICE-related charter flights at Hanscom but was not fully sharing that information with the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission. This lack of disclosure raised the possibility that Massport was deliberately keeping information about ICE flights from the Commission.
In response to the Commission’s request for this data and our desire to increase public scrutiny, Lexington Alarm and partner organizations launched a coordinated letter-writing campaign directed at Massport executives, the Massport Board of Directors, and Governor Maura Healey. To make participation easy and accessible, we developed an online tool that allows individuals to send letters directly to Massport and the Governor both electronically and via regular mail.
As of this week over six hundreds of letters and emails were sent. This response demonstrated that concern about ICE flights from Hanscom extended well beyond Lexington and involved residents across multiple communities.
Here’s your chance to combine holiday shopping with encouraging businesses to take a stand against the federal government’s illegal targeting of immigrants and their rights.
