ICE Expands Airport Arrests to Travelers With Expired Visas
Plainclothes agents are detaining travelers at check-in counters and gates as the program now covers visa overstays, opening a larger deportation pool.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are increasingly detaining travelers at US airports with expired visas, raising alarm among attorneys. Recent arrests occurred in Denver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Nashville involving passengers attempting to board flights.
- Facing pressure to meet President Donald Trump's daily deportation target of around 2,000 arrests, ICE views airports as secure enforcement locations. Agents utilize passenger data provided by the Transportation Security Administration to identify and detain travelers.
- On July 20, agents detained Chantal Alejandra Morales Rojas at Denver International Airport as she boarded a Southwest Airlines flight. Two days later on July 22, Iryna Gorb was arrested near gate B7 at San Francisco International Airport.
- Jeff Joseph, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said enforcement at airports is "nothing we've ever seen," citing unprecedented cooperation between the Transportation Security Administration and ICE. Immigration attorneys warn the tactic creates a chilling effect for those in legal status transitions.
- While the Department of Homeland Security declines to confirm officer locations for operational security, the agency has deported nearly 1 million undocumented immigrants as of July 12. Advocates fear airport enforcement will intensify as the administration pursues its mass deportation agenda.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
Trump’s mass deportation drive has sent arrests surging at US airports
Immigration agents in plain clothes have whisked away targets at check-in counters and arrival gates, with enforcement actions in at least 15 airports in recent weeks.
Five steps and rights before ICE at U.S. airports in July 2026: what documents to show, when to speak and how to act if a migrant is approached
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests at U.S. airports are raising alarm among lawyers who say they are happening more frequently, citing a series of incidents in which passengers…
ICE arrests at US airports are happening more frequently, attorneys say. Here’s what we know
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests at US airports are raising alarm among attorneys who say they are happening more frequently, citing a series of incidents where passengers have been abruptly swept up by agents when they’re traveling.
Political Wire
The Seattle TimesICE Arrests Surge at Airports
"The Trump administration has begun arresting foreign citizens with expired U.S. visas as they travel through airports, including spouses of Americans — a tactic that opens up a vast new pool of people for deportation," the New York Times reports."Immigration agents in plain clothes have whisked a
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