A Florida-based charter airline that operates the majority of deportation flights on behalf of the Trump administration has had its website hacked by the so-called Anonymous cyber group.
GlobalX, which uses the slogan ‘You can’t beat the experience,’ has been implicated in the removal of dozens of immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act, which President Trump invoked in March.
Formally known as Global Crossing Airlines, Inc., the Miami-headquartered charter carrier has acquired the nickname ICE Air because it has become the biggest contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in removing illegal aliens.
As a federal court in the District of Colombia was still in the process of hearing a case challenging the removal of five of these immigrants, GlobalX allegedly flew three planeloads of deportees to the notorious Terrorism Confinement Centre in El Salvador which is commonly referred to as CECOT.
In a statement, the Anonymous hacking collective says they targeted GlobalX after a federal judge ruled that the removal of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua was unlawful.
“Anonymous had decided to enforce the Judge’s order since you and your sycophant staff ignore lawful orders that go against your fascist plans,” the international ‘hacktivist’ group said in a statement that was posted on the GlobalX website without the airline’s permission.
GlobalX has since managed to restore control of the website, but Anonymous claims it has managed to steal personal details of the airline’s passenger manifests, including details of who was on the controversial deportation flights.
Last month, the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalism outlet ProPublica published a story detailing what GlobalX flight attendants experienced while working on these deportation flights.
The crew members thought they were going to be working for an exciting start-up airline with plans to fly rock bands and sports teams both domestically and internationally.
Instead, they suddenly learned that GlobalX had won a major deportation contract with the Department of Homeland Security. Flight attendants are instructed not to speak or even look at detainees, and, apart from arming the disarming the doors and performing a short safety briefing, they otherwise stare out the window for the rest of the flight.
“We have never gotten a clear answer on what we do in an ICE Air evacuation… They will not give us an answer.”
Flight attendant working for GlobalX
One of the biggest concerns raised by the crew members interviewed by ProPublica is what they would do in the event of an emergency because all the detainees are handcuffed and shackled.
This is a similar concern raised by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), which has expressed alarm at the decision by Avelo Airlines to pick up a deportation contract with DHS.
AFA represents flight attendants at Avelo Airlines, and the union says it will support any crew member who “acts in accordance with their moral and ethical belief.”
Unlike GlobalX, the Houston-based carrier Avelo also operates scheduled flights and has been hit with calls for a boycott from passengers who disagree with its role in immigration removal flights.
Note the dates in this story. It precedes the current administration. Hmm. Surprised by the malfeasance or lack of public knowledge?
The story is referring to deportations under the Alien Enemies Act which did not precede the current administration. I hope this helps.
No the Hack of three flight logs is current news. The ProPublica coverage of FA concerns, and the related quotes, go back many years. Don’t fall for posts of posts of old news.
I’m not falling for anything. It’s called context.
This blog uses the term, “immigrants.”
The correct term would be “illegal aliens.”
“You can’t beat the experience but the experience might beat you” seems more appropriate for these flights.