A plane carrying over 100 ICE detainees took off from Portsmouth International Airport in Pease on Tuesday morning after being stranded for more than 24 hours due to a nor’easter. The flight, which originated from Harlingen, Texas, arrived unexpectedly early Monday morning for refueling. Airport officials were only informed 15 minutes before landing and noted that, had they known earlier, they would have advised for landing in better conditions. The plane was grounded on the tarmac for over 12 hours due to high winds, with gusts reaching 35 mph and visibility under a quarter mile during the storm.
After the terminal closed to the public, detainees were safely removed from the plane and provided with meals in the terminal, with no incidents reported during their time there. The flight finally departed around 8 a.m. Tuesday and landed in Bulgaria later that afternoon. Meanwhile, several protesters gathered outside the airport, but no arrests were made.
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