For most of us, the worst airport shenanigans end with lost luggage and TSA lines. But now leaked internal emails suggest that there is a new contender: migrant shelters ordered by the federal government inside U.S. airports.
According to a Senate Commerce Committee report titled “Flight Risk,” senior White House officials allegedly directed federal transportation agencies to locate and prepare airport spaces to house newly arrived migrants. This 47-page report says safety concerns were downplayed as the plan moved forward. Staffers saw it coming.
One Department of Transportation employee responded to the request with:
“Yikes, this is definitely Fox News fodder in the making.”
And that is precisely what followed because the internal correspondence shows us how hurried directives were, and bureaucrats were cornered in a way as well. One FAA official emailed Massport in October 2023:
“We have received a request from the White House to determine if there are available facilities [at the] airport or [in] surrounding areas… This is an immediate ask so please prioritize this effort.”
Bombshell report alleges Biden team forced airports to house migrants, risking safety https://t.co/yfCDEXGJd7
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 25, 2025
Airports weren’t thrilled. Boston’s Massport warned officials that airports don’t function as emergency housing and that the idea is a potential security and safety risk, and having unknown people in secure travel zones isn’t the best idea. Despite that, Logan Airport hosted up to 352 migrants overnight in Terminal E, and spent roughly $779,000 on security, etc.
Chicago O’Hare became an even bigger case study. The same report cites that 900 migrants were housed in an airport shuttle terminal, with 329 police calls and 26 arrests logged, including a death investigation. The report highlights an incident involving a man who bypassed security and ran toward runways with scissors and a box cutter at JFK Airport, too. Not a great look, right?
Republicans are saying that the Revelations from this report only go on to show how reckless the mismanagement has been. Senator Ted Cruz has also accused the administration of “[co-opting] government agencies to put American citizens at risk.” He added that these people were brought “without identity checks, even those with felonies.” On the other hand, Democrats have been quiet as some reports are going around saying that these directives from the White House were due to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
😳 Absolutely shocking. A Senate report says the Biden administration didn’t just fumble the border…they allegedly pressured major U.S. airports to house and process migrants inside terminals and hangars, ignoring serious safety warnings.
Internal emails show the White House… pic.twitter.com/qv7w62CEjV
— Myrna 𝕏 (@GigaBeers) November 25, 2025
The report also claims more federal agencies were looped into the effort, like FMCA, which helped create “Know Your Rights” pamphlets for migrant bus passengers. FTA encouraged transit systems to use federal grants to move these populations. Air marshals were temporarily reassigned to border support. But critics say that there was no need risk altering airport security operations in such a case.
Supporters of the policy argue that migrants need shelter immediately, and turning airport infrastructure into emergency intake sites is better than leaving families outdoors. So were the directives a workaround or federal overreach?
