A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), allowing it to continue using Seattle’s King County International Airport (Boeing Field) for charter deportation flights. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2019 executive order issued by King County Executive Dow Constantine, which sought to block deportations by denying ICE access to airport services. The court found that the order violated existing contractual obligations and unlawfully interfered with federal immigration enforcement.
In its decision, the court emphasized that local authorities cannot obstruct federal operations at a federally regulated facility. The ruling reinstates ICE’s ability to use the airport while also requiring new transparency measures, such as video surveillance and flight logs, to address public accountability concerns. The decision marks a significant legal win for federal immigration authorities and clarifies the limits of local resistance to national enforcement actions.
