The University of Colorado Boulder is financially linked to the federal deportation system through its long-standing contract with Key Lime Air, a Colorado airline now confirmed to operate flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That relationship, critics argue, means CU funds help sustain an aviation network used to move detained migrants between ICE facilities and toward removal from the United States.
Investigations by Colorado Newsline found that Key Lime Air is the first known Colorado-based carrier to fly deportation and detainee-transfer routes for ICE, operating aircraft that shuttle people in custody to hubs such as El Paso and Alexandria for processing. The reporting identifies the airline as part of a broader charter-flight system that underpins federal deportation operations.
CU Boulder has contracted with Key Lime Air since 2011 for athletic-team travel, and the agreement is set to continue through 2029. In statements to Boulder Reporting Lab, the university said it does not typically review contractors’ business with federal agencies unless it affects safety or performance.
Because CU pays the airline directly for charter services, immigrant-rights advocates say the university contributes to Key Lime Air’s overall revenue stream — money that helps maintain the fleet, operations, and staffing that also support ICE flights. They describe this as a form of material complicity: even if CU does not engage with immigration enforcement, its dollars help keep an airline in business that does.
University officials have not addressed the ethical implications of maintaining the contract, even as reporting has made the airline’s role in ICE operations clear. CU has not indicated whether it plans to reevaluate its financial relationship with Key Lime Air or consider alternative vendors.
El Diario de la Gente 
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