TSA Shares More Traveler Data With ICE, Fueling 2,000-a-Day Airport Arrest Push
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Jul 29
TSA Shares More Traveler Data With ICE, Fueling 2,000-a-Day Airport Arrest Push
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jul 29
Summary
U.S. airports are seeing more immigration arrests as TSA gives ICE more information and direct leads on noncitizen travelers suspected of civil violations, including visa overstays.
A May 2025 TSA-ICE agreement expanded information sharing beyond criminal or public-safety cases, marking a shift toward broader civil immigration enforcement at checkpoints and gates.
ICE sources said airports offer secured locations and advance case information, making travelers "easy targets" as the White House presses the agency to reach 2,000 arrests a day.
Immigration lawyers said some detainees have pending applications or work permits but no permanent legal status, ending a long-standing assumption that domestic air travel was generally safe for such travelers.
DHS framed the crackdown as a reversal of Biden-era policy, saying people in the country illegally should no longer be able to fly domestically except to leave the U.S.