A family watches as an Eastern Air Express plane carrying people in restraints takes-off at Dallas Love Field on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Dallas.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas officials were explicitly told a private aviation company was taking over ICE deportation flights at Love Field Airport, email records show, even as the city publicly described that message only as an “irregular operations courtesy notice.”
The emails don’t show that Dallas controlled federal immigration decisions or had authority to stop the flights. But they give a more detailed picture of what city officials knew about the operations and how they responded behind the scenes.
The records also show Signature Aviation asked Dallas aviation department officials to approve black mesh being installed along fencing beside a public observation area, saying it wanted greater privacy and sought to “prevent further media scrutiny.” A senior city aviation official separately asked in a later email that the operations be conducted “more discreetly” away from the observation area.
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The information comes from more than 100 pages of emails among Dallas aviation officials and Signature employees obtained by The Dallas Morning News through a public records request.
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Dallas aviation officials confirmed to The News in July that flights connected to federal immigration operations had occurred at the city-owned Dallas Love Field. Officials with the city and Signature told The News they had no authority to stop lawful flights conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
City officials also said the information they normally received from private aviation companies was generally limited to operational details like flight times and aircraft type.
But on June 29, Signature General Manager Brett Langsdorf emailed Dallas airport and police officials a more explicit notice.
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“Starting tomorrow, we will be taking over all ICE deportation flights that Atlantic once had,” Langsdorf wrote. He said the planes, buses and support vehicles for the operations would use Signature’s Terminal 3.
Atlantic refers to Plano-based Atlantic Aviation, who previously serviced flights connected to ICE at Love Field.
When The News questioned Dallas about the flights in July, aviation department spokeswoman Lauren Rounds said Signature provided the city an “irregular operations courtesy notice” that allowed officials to confirm immigration operations had occurred at the company’s facility.
Rounds has since confirmed that Langsdorf’s June 29 email was the notice she was referring to.
Related: At a tent outside Dallas ICE, volunteers offer help in moments of uncertainty
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Signature spokeswoman Emily Bauman declined to say how many ICE-related flights the company has handled at Love Field since July 1 or address the status of its request for the fence covering.
“Signature, like every fixed-based operator, is required by federal law to serve all government operated or chartered flights,” Bauman said. “Simply put, we have no ability to restrict flight operations that comply with the law and relevant regulations.”
The News reported in July that journalists watched about 25 restrained people board an Eastern Air plane at Signature and about 14 others leave the aircraft for a bus. The transfers were visible from Love Field’s public observation area.
The newly released emails show city officials discussed that visibility.
A man in restraints boards an Eastern Air Express plane at Dallas Love Field on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Dallas.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Assistant Aviation Director Javier Centeno also forwarded Langsdorf’s June 29 email message to Aviation Director Patrick Carreno and raised concerns about the operations taking place in front of the observation area.
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“I have asked if we can be more discreet and conduct it on the north side of the ramp,” Centeno wrote to Carreno. The aviation director’s response to Centeno doesn’t appear in the records released to The News.
The emails also show aviation employees stepped in when there was confusion about where one of the flights should go.
On July 2, another assistant aviation director reported watching an Eastern Air plane initially taxi toward Atlantic while buses waited at Signature.
An airport manager contacted the control tower and Eastern Air’s operations center to make sure pilots knew to use Signature’s facility for the flights.
Airport Operations Manager Logan Jones then contacted the control tower and Eastern Air’s operations center to make sure controllers and pilots knew the aircraft were supposed to use Signature’s Terminal 3.
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Related: Dallas ISD enrollment dipped in part due to immigration policies, superintendent says
Two days later, Langsdorf asked Dallas aviation officials for permission to install black mesh along Gate 427 and nearby fencing. He said the covering would improve safety, privacy and security for employees and passengers. Signature would pay for it.
“While our country guarantees the right to protest and freedom of expression, our employees are becoming increasingly uncomfortable as members of the public approach the fence line, with unclear intentions and potential actions,” Langsdorf wrote.
Emails show Dallas officials stopped Signature from immediately installing the covering. But the records don’t show if that was the end of the discussion or if it has since been raised again.
Signature Aviation is a private fixed-base operator that leases space from Love Field. Signature provides aviation services to clients out of a private terminal at the city-owned airport, according to its website.
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Dallas and Signature officials at the time said they couldn’t prohibit the flights, while ICE declined to confirm how it was using the airport.
In the June 29 email, Langsdorf said the planes, buses and support vehicles would go to Signature’s Terminal 3. The email chain was forwarded the next morning to the city aviation department employees overseeing public information and community engagement.
He said Signature, the airport and the Dallas City Council had received “negative attention” related to the deportation flights.
On July 10, Langsdorf pressed the airport for an immediate decision “to prevent further media scrutiny for all parties involved, including us, the airport, and the City Council.”
City aviation employees raised concerns about the proposal.
Related: Texas Christian University student deported to El Salvador
Officials noted that wire mesh already along the fence prevented people from putting their hands, heads or other body parts through it. They also questioned whether the proposed black covering would deteriorate and if it would interfere with airport inspections.
“I don’t have an issue with a mesh being installed to prevent people from sticking cameras/items through,” Jones wrote. “But this type of mesh/fabric would degrade over time and cause issues.”
Jones added: “It also makes it difficult to see through the fence (I know that’s the point) … and provide oversight of the observation area during inspections.”
On July 11, Langsdorf sent officials a photo of what he said showed about 20 protesters gathered outside Signature’s fence, whom he described as “exercising their rights peacefully and lawfully.”
He said Signature had ordered the material mesh and were prepared to install it.
Dallas officials told Signature three days later that it couldn’t move forward because it hasn’t been approved.
“Any materials Signature has ordered were ordered at Signature’s own risk,” wrote Alan Mathew, a senior manager of properties and airline affairs. “Please do not proceed with any installation until the city has completed its review and issued a written decision.”
Rounds told The News that nothing has been approved as of last week.