King County's ICE Flight Monitoring Role Raises Regulatory Concerns

King County's decision to create a role monitoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) flights at Boeing Field has been met with celebration by anti-deportation activists. However, this move raises serious regulatory issues that could lead King County back into federal court, where it may lose again.

Ken Moninski, president of Safeair Media and a member of the Boeing Field Airport Roundtable Advisory Committee, expressed his concerns in writing to airport management. He pointed out that using airports to advance public-policy objectives is nothing new, but it often runs up against federal regulations. In the early 2000s, for example, Boston-Logan International Airport attempted to regulate nitrous oxide emissions from aircraft.

Moninski also highlighted King County's previous attempts to ban ICE flights, which were struck down by a federal court and upheld on appeal to the 9th Circuit in late 2024. Despite this, the county has continued to try to create an onerous operating environment for ICE flights at the airport.

The creation of a communications specialist position to monitor charter flight operations and coordinate communication with internal and external partners could result in FAA complaints or DOT fines. Moninski emphasized that Boeing Field's operating and capital costs are wholly paid by user fees and grants funded by federal aviation taxes, making it unlikely that the county will be able to justify discriminatory treatment of ICE flights.