Georgia lawmaker says whistleblower alerted him of secret migrant room at airport
Georgia State Sen. Colton Moore joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss his altercation with volunteers who appeared to be helping migrants secure flights to cities nationwide after arriving at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Migrants were discovered in a room at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport while they reportedly awaited flights to cities nationwide, a Georgia state lawmaker revealed Friday.
State Sen. Colton Moore said a whistleblower told him migrants were being held in a discreet room in the world's busiest airport, so he sent a team of cameras to the Altanta airport to get answers.
He joined "Fox & Friends" to discuss his interaction with volunteers, which was all caught on camera, after they were adamant about him not recording their altercation.
"We got a whistleblower, who gave us a tip about this hidden room, and I had a full team there with some different cameras in different places, and said on Monday and Tuesday nights, there's just an influx of these people who come to the airport, kind of when the traffic is much lower at the airport," Moore told host Lawrence Jones, who called it "shady business."
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"They were in a hidden room. I was talking to an Atlanta Police Department investigator yesterday. There are absolutely no cameras in this area of the airport," he continued. "If you watch another part of the video, you'll see that there's some barricades and some caution tape before you get there. Kind of looks like a construction zone."
FILE - In this Friday, May 27, 2016, file photo taken from video, travelers pass through the main security gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Martin, File)
In Moore's footage, there appears to be a U.S. service member standing outside the door.
"Are you guys transporting anybody anywhere?" Moore asked one volunteer, who appeared to be at the door to the hidden room.
"Yeah, we're all getting them flights to where they need to be," he responded.
"These are just documented travelers getting released from ICE getting to where they need to be," the volunteer continued.
But when Moore showed that he was recording, volunteers confronted him, telling him he was "not allowed" to film.
"You can not get a video," one volunteer said while putting his hand in front of the camera.
"No, no! You're not allowed!" a woman yelled at Moore.
Moore said the whistleblower described groups of migrants walking "right out of the gates" before being escorted to the room while they waited for a ticket to their next destination.
"Those people in that room, though, they were waiting to be booked to flights all across the United States," Moore said. "We were also getting video of migrants who were just walking out onto the streets of Atlanta."
The Atlanta airport released a statement in response to Moore's video.
"ATL works with Team Libertad, volunteers to provide assistance to immigrants during their travel," the statement read. "Team Libertad is a nonprofit that has worked at ATL since 2020 and there are no military or other law enforcement agencies involved in this effort. Immigrants are never housed in the airport."
Meanwhile, airports nationwide have been forced into dealing with the migrant crisis, even thousands of miles from the southern border.
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Illegal migrants line floors of terminal in Boston Logan Airport as Massachusetts' shelters are overrun. (WBZ)
Dozens of migrants have camped out at Boston Logan Airport recently, causing an uproar in the community as the state struggles to house the asylum seekers. But because Massachusetts has a state-wide "right-to-shelter law," officials have no choice.
Chicago's airports have also been overrun with migrants, who have been seeking shelter at the O’Hare International Airport for months, and more recently in Midway International Airport.
The sanctuary city, alongside others nationwide, has struggled to provide enough resources for the illegal immigrants who have arrived by busloads.
Despite it being a nationwide struggle, Moore said he hopes Georgia state lawmakers will take action to get necessary answers.
"I hope the Georgia Senate will flex its subpoena authority and start bringing some folks from the airport in and getting answers to these questions," he said.
"I want to see these people not be able to leave the airport," he continued. "The city of Atlanta controls the Atlanta airport. They ought to be housing these people here until we can figure out things going forward."
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