The new Senate Commerce Committee report lays out how the Biden administration pushed airports to hold large numbers of migrants on site, creating safety and security challenges that staff and local officials warned would be predictable and dangerous.
Airports across the country became the backdrop for a border crisis that played out in full view of travelers and staff. Viral footage of families and groups living in terminals was more than a photo op; it reflected policy choices made at the highest levels of government.
The report says the White House directed multiple agencies to find space at airports for migrant processing and shelter, a move that airport officials say strained resources and jeopardized operations. That direction came to the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other agencies charged with keeping air travel safe.
The Senate report alleges the administration told DOT, FAA, FMCSA, and FTA to “inventory available facilities” and to redirect federal support toward handling arrivals, effectively turning airports into temporary intake centers.
The Biden administration allegedly pressured US airports to house migrants despite warnings that it could compromise safety and put travelers at risk, according to a bombshell Senate report.
The 47-page document, “Flight Risk” released by the Senate Commerce Committee, alleges the White House directed the Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to find airport facilities for shelters or processing centers for migrants.
According to the report, the administration instructed DOT and FAA to “inventory available facilities” at both federally owned and local airports and to “divert federal resources” to support migrant arrivals.
Internal emails from airport staff show alarm at the request and worry about optics and safety. “We have received a request from the WH to determine if there are available facilities on airport or surrounding areas… This is an immediate ask so please prioritize this effort,” one message reads, and another bluntly warned, “Yikes, this is definitely Fox News fodder in the making.”
Major hubs were named specifically: JFK, Logan, and O’Hare were all pressured to host migrants in terminals, hangars, and outbuildings. Massport told federal officials bluntly that “We are not designed or resourced to manage the intake of migrant populations … this would create a host of unintended safety and security consequences,” yet Terminal E at Logan still held hundreds.
Chicago officials ended up keeping nearly one thousand migrants in a shuttle terminal where police responded to over 300 calls for thefts, disorderly conduct, and other incidents, and 26 arrests were made during the period the facility was occupied. Reports also note at least one death and sustained pressure on local services while the terminal served as a makeshift intake site.
At one New York airport, a migrant reportedly ran past a security post toward a runway and was later found with a box cutter and scissors when detained, highlighting how improvising shelter and processing on airport property can create direct risks to passengers and operations.
These actions forced a new reality on travelers who must comply with Real ID rules or show a passport and who go through security screening before boarding. Placing large groups of non-ticketed people inside or beside secured airport areas mixes populations that are normally separated for safety and operational reasons.
From a Republican perspective, this was a predictable result of policies that deprioritized strict enforcement at the border and then funneled the problem into public infrastructure. Democrats pushed an approach that, critics say, prioritized political messaging over the safety of Americans who rely on secure airports every day.
The report and the internal correspondence make clear the burden fell on local airports and communities to absorb a federal policy choice. Flooding facilities with large groups of migrants without adequate planning or resources created avoidable safety vulnerabilities and strained already stretched local responders.
