Avelo Airlines was warmly welcomed by Connecticut travelers and politicians when budget airlines brought uninterrupted flights to Tweed New Haven Airport.

But the reception became cold after Avelo announced a contract that began for U.S. immigration and customs enforcement or ICE. Earlier this month, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the New Haven airport to condemn the move.

"To the president of Avelo: you really stepped in," Richard Blumenthal, the state's senior U.S. Senator, said in one of the protests. "You made a mistake."

Faced with financial headwinds, Avelo reached a long-term agreement to cooperate with ICE. The company said its three planes will begin opening ice rental flights in Mesa, Arizona on May 12.

"We realized this is a sensitive and complex topic," Founder and CEO Andrew Levy said in an emailed statement to NPR. "After extensive deliberation, we determined that such a charter flight will allow us to steadily continue to expand our core booked passenger services and keep our more than 1,100 crew members working for the next few years."

But budget operators are now facing an increasing rebound, especially at their Connecticut hubs.

"It's outrageous," said John Lugo, an activist in New Haven who helped organize the airport protests. “Now, they will make money by expelling people back.”

Avelo will join a small group of ice-air operators that operate these flights, which are rarely made public by immigration authorities.

"There is no transparency, it's designed," said Tom Cartwright, 71, who began using public flight tracking data to track air on the ice during the first Trump administration. Now, he has become the preferred source of information about ice flight.

Cartwright said there are 8 to 10 layers of ice every day with passengers with tie and leg chains every day.

Cartwright said the number of deportations has remained the same since President Trump returned to office. The ICE has intensified arrests and dismissals within the country, but the overall number of deportations has not changed significantly as fewer immigrants illegally cross the border.

ICE's air operations are roughly the same as those managed by both parties.

Major contractor CSI Aviation, Inc, Earn hundreds of millions of dollars Although the contract with the Department of Homeland Security has not been made public, it has been contracted for one year.

Cartwright said the airlines that operate these ice are often subcontractors — often private charter airlines that fly for many different customers.

"They might be flying ice planes today and they might be taking someone to the Masters tomorrow. That's how they work," he said.

But Cartwright said Avelo was another situation. It is a regular retail airline that flies to dozens of cities and sells tickets directly to the public.

“So it’s completely different,” Cartwright said. “And, I think they underestimated the public outcry, and to be honest, that could be the result.”

In Connecticut, Avelo has a major hub, and Democratic elected leaders have been furiously outraged by the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.

The state's Attorney General William Tong asked for a contract with the Department of Homeland Security to see Avelo's contract.

Tong is video Posted on Instagram.

If Avelo doesn't change course, Tong said state lawmakers should revoke their support to airlines, including the tax breaks on Jet Fuel, which will expire this summer.

Connecticut public journalist Eddy Martinez and WSHU journalist Carter Dewees contributed to the story.