Boeing Field Taps New Monitor for ICE Charter Operations

King County's Boeing Field has introduced a new position to monitor charter operations handled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on its tarmac.

The 'Flight Monitoring and Outreach Coordinator' was created after years of advocacy from local immigrant rights organizations, who raised concerns about the safety and human rights treatment of detainees being moved through the airport.

Community members wanted more transparency in the operations, prompting King County officials to log flight data and publish it on their website. The county installed four livestreaming airfield cameras at Boeing Field and streams them online for public viewing.

The monitor also logs passenger metrics, including counting detainees as they board or deplane. In the first weeks of August, 285 detainees moved through the airfield across five flights, according to the public log.