Key Lime Campaign

On November 18th, 2025, the Boulder Reporting Lab reported that CU Boulder would continue its contract with Key Lime Air despite the airline's ties to ICE. Key Lime Air was found to be flying deportation flights for ICE, while at the same time contracting with our very own athletics department. CU Boulder is actively giving money to a corporation involved in the deportation-industrial complex, a fact that makes everyone at CU Boulder morally complicit in the sins of ICE. And what is perhaps worse is the unapologetic lies the administration has told about this contract. They said they could not cancel it until 2029. We found they can cancel it at any time with cause. They said contract decisions were made without political considerations. We found that in the 1990s' CU Boulder divested from companies tied to apartheid. They said they were not going to do anything about it. We decided we would make them. 

On September 1st 2023, The University of Colorado Boulder signed a contract with Colorado-based airline Key Lime Air, to fly its athletes out of Broomfield CO, to and from games. On October 23, 2025, Colorado Newsline Sara Wilson reported that Key Lime Air was conducting deportation flights for ICE. Cameron Satterfield, a spokesperson for King County International Airport outside of Seattle, confirmed that ICE deportation flights by Key Lime Air were flown out of the airport. Similar deportation flights were done by Key Lime in various locations in Texas and Louisiana. Given CU’s commitment as outlined on their Ethics and Compliance page, “CU Boulder is committed to its mission of shaping tomorrow’s leaders, being the top University for innovation, and positively impacting humanity through an integrity and compliance-based environment where applicable legal, regulatory, Regental, campus and other compliance requirements are followed, and public trust is maintained.” This is obvious hypocrisy. 

In response to protests against the contract, In December of 2025, CU Athletics said in a statement to the Colorado Times Recorder, “The university does not, as part of its guidelines, request that potential contractors provide a list of other business relationships unless they are relevant to assisting the university in assessing the capacity and competency of the company…In the case of Key Lime Air…the provider was selected through our standard competitive process, the latest of which occurred in September 2023. The company’s contract is in effect with the university through 2029.” It should be said, that CU has historically cut ties with companies who have had other problematic business relationships, such as its divestment from companies supporting apartheid in South Africa in 1988, and the genocide in Darfur in 2006. Moreover, the contract explicitly states that, “The University may terminate this Agreement at any time without cause, upon written notice given thirty (30) days in advance.” On top of this CU is not under an obligation of exclusivity with Key Lime Air for its services, “It is expressly understood that this Agreement does not grant Contractor an exclusive privilege to furnish to the University any or all of the types of Services which are the subject of this Agreement that the University may require. The University reserves the right to contract with others for the purchase of services that are identical to the Services which are the subject of this Agreement.” CU could have its athletes fly another airline that is without problematic associations, CU simply chooses not to. The contract also outlines that CU has to renew the contract each year until 2029,”The term of the contract(s) resulting from award of this solicitation shall begin upon execution of the contract on September 1, 2023 and end one (1) year later. The contract(s) may be renewed upon mutual agreement for up to four (4) additional oneyear periods for a total term not to exceed five (5) years.”  which means that the contract does not need to be in effect until 2029, it only takes CU not renewing it in September, for it to end. Despite CU’s attempts at defending themselves, the very language in their contract and the school’s own history shows that there is no excuse to keep this contract. 

Formal Demands:

The Boulder Chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America, formally demands the University of Colorado Boulder end its contract with Key Lime Air by either:

• Exercising the 30 day cancellation policy 

• Not renewing the contract September 1, 2026