What happens when you know who is accepting contracts to transport ICE deportations and you also know that some of these individuals have been denied their basic rights under the Constitution? Folks are taking a stand.

Did you know that Avelo Airlines, which flies regular flights from the Concord airport, has a $150-million contract with ICE to charter deportation flights with the people ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is rounding up in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas, and around the country? These individuals have been denied due process, legal representation and their basic rights under our Constitution. We don’t even know where they have been taken.

According to the flight attendants and pilots on these flights, these “prisoners” have been shackled and kept in terrible unsafe conditions. The actions of ICE and CBP (Customs and Border Patrol), have torn families apart, scared children so they fear going to school, and forced small businesses to close because customers are afraid to come out in public.

This has got to stop! I am outraged that my (and your) tax dollars are being used in this way. You can join with others across the country by protesting Avelo’s cooperation with ICE. Do not fly Avelo Airlines. Also check out the website www.stopavelo.org to learn about the national campaign to Stop Avelo.

Take a stand! No person in our country should ever be deported without due process, a right guaranteed by our Constitution. — Eileen Hanson-Kelly