Surprisingly, the Hartford Yahoos are displaying a reasoned reaction to the “revelation” that Houston-based Avelo Airlines, which also conducts operations at New Haven’s Tweed Airport, has renewed a contract with the federal government to fly deported illegal aliens out of the country from Arizona. What is not at all surprising is that our fatuous governor and The Man Who Would Be Blumenthal, State Attorney General Tong, have seized on Avelo’s Connecticut connection to publicly side with the criminals, and denounced their removal from the country. Worse, their stance has nothing to do with principle: Avelo’s contract with the government was originally made during the Biden administration, and we didn’t hear a peep of protest from these two; it’s all about Trump, and pandering to the TDA sufferers in their base.
That celebration continued late last year when Avelo announced plans to expand with flights out of Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.
But that enthusiasm quickly dissipated in recent weeks when it was learned that Avelo planned to run deportation flights as a contractor for federal immigration authorities. The deportation flights have even led to protests, some boycotts and an online petition with tens of thousands of signatures. Connecticut's Democratic leaders have expressed disappointment that such flights are being operated by a company they have worked closely with and one that has benefited from some incentives in the state.
….. But while there have been calls from some, including state Attorney General William Tong, to pull support from Avelo, that is unlikely to happen.
“We are not doing anything. We gave the industry a two-year hiatus on the fuel tax as an attempt to produce growth in that industry,” said State Rep. Maria Horn, D-Salisbury, co-chairwoman of the tax-writing Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee. “Early in the legislative session the industry asked for an extension, then we got the news on renditions. First, Avelo has not advocated for an extension and I am not interested in extending it. These are state resources to promote growth and we make choices and they make choices.”
Tong, in a letter to Avelo, requested assurances that deportation charter flights the company plans to run from Arizona won't violate the rights of immigrants. On Thursday, a spokesperson for Tong said they have not received updates, despite requesting answers by an April 15 deadline. He also requested the company's contract with federal officials.
[Tong Letter]
"Let’s be clear what these flights are doing. These are flights separating parents from their children. These are flights where people—men, women and children — are shackled in handcuffs, waist chains and leg irons, where flight attendants have said there is no safe plan to evacuate people in an emergency," the letter states."No one is forcing Avelo to operate these flights. If reporting is accurate, Avelo has freely chosen to profit from and facilitate these atrocities. The State of Connecticut has an obligation now to review this business decision and to consider the viability of our choice to support Avelo."
…. It is the policy of the State of Connecticut to support, honor and protect families, to uphold public safety and to defend the rule of law.]
Avelo spokesperson Courtney Goff, responding to a request for comment by email, said, "We flew these charters under the Biden administration and our new contract won’t start until mid-May.” [bolding added] The company has requested Tong seek the contract through the Department of Homeland Security. [Politese for “pound sand” — Ed]
“We also flew these charters under the Biden administration. Regardless of the administration or party affiliation, as a U.S. flag carrier when our country calls and requests assistance our practice is to say yes. We follow all protocols from DHS and (the Federal Aviation Administration), honoring our core value of Safety Always.”
A proposed bill to redraft the state’s Trust Act to end state subsidies to companies to aid in deportations is still pending, but Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, confirmed that it probably wouldn’t impact Avelo, even if it were signed into law.
"Avelo doesn’t get state subsidies, so that bill didn’t do anything to hurt them,” Ritter said. “They take advantage of a tax. They said, ‘Anyone who enters in a state contract.’ Avelo doesn’t have a state contract. They do take advantage of the fuel tax.”
nd in steps Ned:
While future deportation flights will be run out of Arizona, a spokesperson for Gov. Ned Lamont said state officials are "watching to ensure they do not operate such flights here in Connecticut."
Why? Is Lamont advocating against deporting all illegal aliens, and leaving our borders open to the world, or does he just object to seeing it done here (Arizona, actually), the way he and his fellow hypocrites demand that the metals required for producing battery cars be mined out of sight on the other side of the world by impoverished, enslaved children, and only then shipped here?
These are ugly people.
