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Flight attendants say they have been increasingly horrified by the appearance of ICE agents traveling far, far from the southern border with young children who’ve been separated from their parents. In an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle, veteran flight attendant Hunt Palmquist has been in the air for 29 years and says in the last few weeks, he has worked on two flights with ICE agents transporting migrant kids and his conscience and his religious values will not allow him to work another one of these flights.
On board these particular flights were ICE agents and migrant children (approximately four to eleven years old) who had been separated from their families and were being flown to a "relocation" site.
Since working the two flights, the images of those helpless children have burned into my psyche. The little children whose faces were full of fear, confusion, sadness and exhaustion left me somewhat traumatized as it occurred to me a few weeks later that I might as well have been a collaborator in their transport.
Once Palmquist made the decision, he began talking with fellow crew members who pledged to walk off these flights as well. They have clearly made a difference because in only a few short hours today, American Airlines, United Airlines and Frontier Airlines have all publicly stated they will not be a part of transporting these children across the country, far away from their detained or deported parents.
How in the hell is a 4 year old, a 6 year old or even a 10 year old in a foreign country supposed to find their parents after they’ve been flown hundreds or thousands of miles away to unknown “relocation camps” and foster care homes?
For what it’s worth, at least one of these ICE agents lied to the flight crew about who they were transporting.
Since sharing my story, I learned from a fellow flight attendant that he was lied to by an ICE agent who said the children on the flight were part of a soccer team. When pressed, the agent finally admitted that they were, indeed children who were being relocated to assigned camps.
Thank you, Hunt Palmquist, and all the flight attendants who stood up and are speaking out to their bosses. Y’all never get enough credit but we are grateful for all that you do.