Photo via Fox News

Twice-deported United cockpit suspect granted asylum after transgender persecution claim: DHS

Read the original at Fox News ↗
Cite

Baehr, J. (2026, November 12). Twice-deported United cockpit suspect granted asylum after transgender persecution claim: DHS. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/twice-deported-united-cockpit-suspect-granted-asylum-transgender-persecution-claim-dhs

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-11-12 · by Jasmine Baehr

Quick Summary

Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a 34-year-old Honduran national who attempted to breach the cockpit of a United Airlines flight in November 2019 and was previously deported twice, has been granted asylum status after claiming he faced transgender persecution in Honduras. DHS criticized this decision as exploiting weaknesses in the U.S. asylum system. Gomez-Alberto faces charges including terrorizing passengers and communicating false information about a bomb threat.
Written by AI on 2026-11-12, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).
See how they differ ↓

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 10, 2026, Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a 34-year-old Honduran national, allegedly threatened to hijack and blow up a United Airlines flight bound for New Orleans from Newark. During the flight, Gomez-Alberto reportedly claimed to have a bomb and attempted to enter the cockpit, prompting the pilots to issue a hijacking alert. The plane landed safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, where Gomez-Alberto was arrested without incident by Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. ICE has lodged a detainer for him, as he had been previously deported twice but managed to re-enter the U.S., allegedly claiming to be transgender during one of his arrests. He is now charged with terrorizing and communicating false information about planned arson.

Written for “Illegal Immigrant Hijack Attempt On United Flight” on 2026-11-12, grounded in this article and the 13 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.65, but 2 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 146747: no verified evidence · logged 2026-11-12

How they differ

9 outlets covered “Illegal Immigrant Hijack Attempt On United Flight”.

What each outlet says

One AI summary per outlet of its latest article on this story, written from that article alone and checked against it. Open the article for the outlet's own words.

Fox NewsThis outlet12 Nov

Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a 34-year-old Honduran national who attempted to breach the cockpit of a United Airlines flight in November 2019 and was previously deported twice, has been granted asylum status after claiming he faced transgender persecution in Honduras. DHS criticized this decision as exploiting weaknesses in the U.S. asylum system. Gomez-Alberto faces charges including terrorizing passengers and…

Twice-deported United cockpit suspect granted asylum after transgender persecution claim: DHS (this article)4 articles from Fox News on this story
Daily Mail11 Nov

Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, 34, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, was arrested after threatening to detonate a bomb on United Flight 2174 heading to New Orleans. During the flight, he allegedly attempted to storm the cockpit, leading pilots to issue a hijack alert. This incident occurred on Monday night when the plane took off from Newark International Airport and landed safely in New Orleans an hour later…

Illegal migrant arrested for threatening to bomb United Airlines flight to New Orleans before rushing cockpit →2 articles from Daily Mail on this story
The Daily Wire11 Nov

Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, an illegal immigrant from Honduras who crossed the U.S. border three times since 2011, allegedly attempted to hijack a United Airlines flight on November 10, 2026. After being deported twice, he successfully entered the country in 2019 by claiming to be transgender and facing persecution in his home country, securing asylum as a result. During the incident, Gomez-Alberto claimed to have…

EXCLUSIVE: Attempted Plane Hijacking Migrant Claimed To Be Trans To Get Fast Pass Into US →2 articles from The Daily Wire on this story
Toronto Star11 Nov

A 34-year-old man was arrested after claiming to have a bomb on a flight headed to New Orleans late one evening. He reportedly became irrational during the journey and informed the crew of his claim. The plane landed safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, where authorities took him into custody without any further incident occurring.

A man is arrested after saying he had a bomb while aboard a flight bound for New Orleans →
New York Post11 Nov

Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a 34-year-old Honduran national who was illegally living in the US, has been identified as the passenger who made a bomb threat and attempted to hijack United Airlines Flight 2174 from New Jersey to New Orleans on Monday night. Immigration records show that Gomez-Alberto had previously been arrested three times by Border Patrol for illegal entry into the country—first in September 2011…

Illegal immigrant ID’d as United flier accused of bomb threat, hijack attempt — was previously busted by ICE but judge let him go →
Just the News11 Nov

Department of Homeland Security reported that Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, an illegal Honduran migrant who had previously been deported twice, was arrested after claiming to have a bomb and attempting to enter the cockpit during a United Airlines flight from Newark to New Orleans on November 10, 2026. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer for Gomez-Alberto following his arrest by the Jefferson…

DHS says illegal Honduran migrant is accused of trying to storm United cockpit, threatening bomb →
Show 3 more outlets
Global News11 Nov

Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a 34-year-old man from Honduras with a history of criminal offenses including felony bomb threats, was arrested after allegedly claiming to have a bomb on United Airlines flight 2174 from Newark, New Jersey, to New Orleans. The plane landed safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and Gomez-Alberto was booked for communicating false information about arson and…

Man arrested after alleged bomb threat on flight bound for New Orleans →
The Blaze11 Nov

Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, an illegal immigrant from Honduras with a history of violent offenses including felony bomb threats, was arrested after making alleged bomb threats on a United Airlines flight from Newark to New Orleans and attempting to enter the cockpit. This incident occurred on Monday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport; he had previously been deported twice in 2011 and 2014 but…

Honduran illegal alien who TERRORIZED flight with bomb threat had been deported TWICE before, feds claim →

Where they agree and split

Framing

How the first headlines put it

A claim to check1
Attributed to a source2
Stated as fact4
The headlines (7)

Twice-Deported Illegal Tries To Storm Cockpit, Claims He Has Bomb On United Flight The Daily Wire · a claim to check

Twice-deported illegal immigrant accused of trying to storm United cockpit, threatening bomb: DHS Fox News · attributed to a source

DHS says illegal Honduran migrant is accused of trying to storm United cockpit, threatening bomb Just the News · attributed to a source

United flight from Newark to New Orleans sent out hijacking distress call after passenger tried to storm cockpit Daily Mail · stated as fact

A man is arrested after saying he had a bomb while aboard a flight bound for New Orleans Toronto Star · stated as fact

Illegal immigrant ID’d as United flier accused of bomb threat, hijack attempt — was previously busted by ICE but judge let him go New York Post · stated as fact

ICE issues detainer for Honduran who allegedly tried to storm cockpit midflight Washington Examiner · stated as fact

The full story: what happened, how it changed, and all 14 articles →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 20% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Daily Wire
Hedges 7 of 16 claims Outlet record 59/100

Story

Illegal Immigrant Hijack Attempt On United Flight
Crime & Law · 14 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
20%
4 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
14
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-12 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 7353 article(s) · 14 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 14 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jasmine Baehr
37 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
"I am also afraid that I will be killed--either by private citizens or the police--in both of these countries because I am transgender," he allegedly wrote, according to the application.
For millions of television viewers, Keach will forever be remembered as Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, the tough-talking private investigator he portrayed with grit, charisma and an unmistakable screen presence.
Trump announced Saturday that Audi would invest $4.2 billion in a new facility in the Macon area, with plans to manufacture approximately 200,000 vehicles annually.
"I will be loyal to the Constitution of the United States," El-Sayed said.
Miles argued that the line of questioning may illustrate a broader threat to religious freedom.
Castillo contends that she would not have purchased the meal, or would have examined it more closely, had she known about the alleged defect.
"So I'm going to sign this now, something that Joe Biden would be unable to do because he was unable to sign his signature," Trump said.
Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., formally introduced sweeping legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and eliminate Customs and Border Protection (CBP), advancing a radical proposal that would fundamentally overhaul federal immigration enforcement.
Bethea said the story may encourage listeners to examine unresolved trauma, mental health concerns and other personal struggles that he and Fr. Martins believe may contribute to spiritual vulnerability.
"Literally, President Trump could walk across the Cumberland River, and tomorrow the headline would say President Trump refuses to swim," the musician joked.
Also by Jasmine Baehr
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 37 articles by Jasmine Baehr →

Topics

Border Patrol DHS Fox News Digital's United Airlines the United States

Subjects

DHS ORG · 6× Gomez-Alberto PERSON · 4× Fox News Digital's ORG · 3× the United States GPE · 3× Border Patrol ORG · 2× ICE ORG · 2× United Airlines ORG · 2× Fox News ORG · 1× Honduran NORP · 1× the Department of Homeland Security ORG · 1×

Narrative

DHS previously confirmed that Gomez-Alberto was apprehended by Border Patrol after illegally entering the United States near El Indio, Texas, in September 2011 and Columbus, New Mexico, in October 2014.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-12
"I am also afraid that I will be killed--either by private citizens or the police--in both of these countries because I am transgender," he allegedly wrote, according to the application.

Claims (20 extracted, 4 hedged)

A twice-deported Honduran national accused of trying to storm the cockpit of a United Airlines flight after allegedly claiming to have a bomb was granted asylum after telling immigration authorities he feared being killed in his home country because he was transgender, the Department of Homeland Security DHS confirmed to Fox News. uncertain
DHS → deport → News
Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, 34, was granted asylum by an immigration judge after his third attempted illegal entry into the United States in 2019, according to DHS, which accused him of exploiting weaknesses in the asylum system. uncertain
which → grant → system
In an excerpt of his asylum application provided by DHS, Gomez-Alberto checked "Yes" when asked whether he feared harm or mistreatment if returned to his home country. asserted
he → provide → country
"I am also afraid that I will be killed--either by private citizens or the police--in both of these countries because I am transgender," he allegedly wrote, according to the application. uncertain
he → kill → application
"This criminal illegal alien attempted to storm the cockpit, hijack a plane, and claimed he had a bomb. asserted
he → attempt → bomb
Thanks to law enforcement, he is now behind bars," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. asserted
Mullin → say → statement
"This twice-deported criminal illegal alien was allowed into our country because of a weak asylum system that allowed him to game the system. asserted
him → deport → system
" Gomez-Alberto was arrested after United Airlines Flight 2174 landed in New Orleans on Nov. 9, following the alleged attempt at a cockpit breach. asserted
Flight → arrest → breach
He is being held without bond on charges of terrorizing, communicating false information of planned arson, and being a fugitive from justice, according to Fox News Digital's earlier reporting. uncertain
He → hold → reporting
Newly obtained emergency radio audio, reported by Fox News Digital, captured authorities' response. asserted
audio → obtain → response
"We have him at the back door. asserted
We → have → door
The back door has been breached by him," someone can be heard in the radio call saying. asserted
someone → breach → call
DHS previously confirmed that Gomez-Alberto was apprehended by Border Patrol after illegally entering the United States near El Indio, Texas, in September 2011 and Columbus, New Mexico, in October 2014. asserted
Alberto → confirm → October
He was deported from the United States following both encounters. asserted
He → deport → encounters
Border Patrol arrested him again in 2019 after an attempted illegal entry near San Ysidro, California. asserted
Patrol → arrest → Ysidro
ICE released Gomez-Alberto from custody in January 2020 following an immigration judge's order, pending removal proceedings, DHS previously said. asserted
DHS → release → proceedings
The agency now says an immigration judge subsequently granted him asylum. asserted
judge → say → asylum
ICE lodged a detainer with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office on Nov. 10, requesting notification before his release from custody. asserted
ICE → lodge → custody
The Department of Justice and Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. asserted
Department → respond → comment
Fox News Digital's Kelsie Cairns contributed to this reporting. asserted
Cairns → contribute → reporting
Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

History Support