Gaetz Demands Answers From Delta after Passenger Accuses Airline of Transporting Illegal Immigrants

Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) is demanding to know whether Delta Air Lines transports illegal immigrants from southern border states into the interior of the United States.

In a now-viral X post, conservative commentator Ashley St. Clair accused Delta of transporting illegal immigrants from Arizona to New York this week, after noticing that passengers on her Phoenix flight carried bags from migrant processing centers.

“My Delta flight from Phoenix appears to be flying migrants who crossed the border and are being shipped to New York,” St. Clair posted. “When I asked a Delta representative if this was the case, his response was ‘What does it matter, they’re humans too.’ What is happening???? Are taxpayer dollars paying for this????”

Gaetz issued a letter to Delta’s CEO Ed Bastion on Friday, asking the executive to identify how many migrants Delta had transported on behalf of governmental or non-governmental organizations since January 20, 2021, how plane tickets are purchased for illegal immigrants, what identification TSA requires for illegal immigrants, and if Delta receives any incentive for transporting illegal immigrants.

“As you are likely aware, certain NGOs receive federal grants, including through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program and Shelter and Services Program, making it possible that these NGOs are using federal money to purchase flights for non-resident aliens on Delta Air Lines,” Gaetz said in the letter. “Even more alarming than American taxpayers footing the bill for non-resident aliens to be transported into our communities is that they may not be properly vetted.”

“Therefore, I am concerned the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) may be allowing non-resident aliens to board flights, including those operated by Delta Air Lines, with an alternate form of identification that meets a weaker standard than that used to verify the identities of American citizens who they fly,” he continued.

The Department of Homeland Security authorized a $350 million grant this year to support the Emergency Food and Shelter Program. The grant was issued in part to help illegal immigrants fund plane tickets up to $700, among other expenses.

Flights containing illegal immigrants were reported in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee in 2022, which then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed were flights to transport unaccompanied children.