For years, immigration lawyers warned clients about the risks of returning to the United States after international travel. Today, the concern is broader: ICE is using airports to locate and arrest immigrants who are traveling within the United States.
These arrests are not limited to people arriving from foreign countries. Recent cases have involved immigrants detained while attempting to board domestic flights, returning home from concerts and sporting events, or simply passing through airport security.
The airport is increasingly becoming an immigration-enforcement checkpoint.
TSA Passenger Information Is Being Shared With ICE
Air travelers provide extensive personal information when purchasing a ticket and passing through airport security. Through TSA’s Secure Flight program, the government receives information including the passenger’s name, date of birth, gender, itinerary, and identifying documents.
That system was created primarily to screen passengers against national-security watchlists. But recent reporting shows that TSA is now supplying traveler information to ICE for civil immigration enforcement.
According to internal government data reviewed by Reuters, TSA provided ICE with information concerning more than 31,000 travelers from January 2025 through February 2026. ICE arrested more than 800 people after receiving TSA-generated leads.
This appears to be an organized information-sharing program—not a handful of agents randomly encountering immigrants at airport terminals. TSA passenger data can alert ICE that a targeted person has purchased a ticket, identify the airport and flight, and give agents an opportunity to make the arrest at a predictable time and place.
Recent Airport Arrests
The arrests have occurred at airports across the country.
In November 2025, ICE arrested college student Ana Luccía López Belloza at Boston Logan International Airport while she was waiting to board a domestic flight to visit family for
In another highly publicized case, ICE arrested a Guatemalan mother and her daughter at San Francisco International Airport after TSA reportedly alerted immigration authorities to their travel. DHS stated that both had been ordered removed in 2019.
In July 2026, ICE arrested two travelers at Boston Logan Airport as they attempted to fly home after visiting Boston. One had attended a concert, while the other had traveled to attend a World Cup match. Both were reportedly arrested while preparing to board domestic flights.
On July 22, 2026, plainclothes federal officers arrested a Ukrainian woman at San Francisco International Airport as she returned from Portland. DHS alleged that she had overstayed her visa and resisted arrest. Video of the incident circulated widely because witnesses initially had difficulty determining who the officers were and what was happening.
Officials have also confirmed immigration-enforcement activity at airports in Connecticut, including operations conducted beyond security checkpoints without advance notice to the local airport authority.
These cases demonstrate that ICE may treat a domestic airline reservation as an opportunity to locate someone whom the agency already wants to arrest.
This Is Different From an International Border Inspection
When a person arrives in the United States on an international flight, Customs and Border Protection has broad authority to inspect the traveler and determine whether a noncitizen may enter.
A domestic flight is different. Traveling from Phoenix to Denver, Boston to Miami, or Portland to San Francisco does not involve seeking admission to the United States.
Nevertheless, ICE may arrest a person at a domestic airport when the agency believes that person is subject to immigration enforcement. The arrest may occur:
- At the ticket counter;
- Near the TSA checkpoint;
- After the passenger passes through security;
- At the departure gate;
- After the passenger exits an arriving flight; or
- In an airport parking or transportation area.
Passing through TSA successfully does not mean that a person has been “cleared” by immigration authorities. TSA’s principal function is aviation security. But the information collected through the screening process may separately be provided to ICE.
Who Faces the Greatest Risk?
The greatest risk generally falls on immigrants who have:
- A final order of removal or deportation;
- Missed an immigration-court hearing;
- An old removal order they may not know about;
- An outstanding ICE reporting or supervision issue;
- An immigration warrant or active enforcement flag;
- No current lawful immigration status;
- A prior deportation followed by reentry;
- A prior criminal arrest or conviction;
- A denied asylum or immigration application; or
- Inconsistent information in government records.
A person may be at risk even when the immigration case is many years old. Many immigrants incorrectly assume that an old case disappeared because ICE never previously attempted to arrest them.
Others may not realize that they were ordered removed in absentia after a hearing notice was sent to an old address.
Air travel can bring those dormant cases back to the government’s attention.
What About People With Pending Applications?
A pending immigration application does not necessarily protect someone from arrest.
For example, a person may have a pending:
- Family petition;
- Adjustment-of-status application;
- Asylum application;
- U visa petition;
- T visa application;
- VAWA petition;
- Motion to reopen; or
- Appeal.
Whether that pending matter provides protection depends on the person’s full immigration history. A pending petition does not automatically cancel a removal order, create lawful status, or prevent ICE from making an arrest.
A person with both a pending application and a final removal order should obtain legal advice before flying.
What Travelers Should Do Before Flying
Immigrants who are uncertain about their status should not wait until they are standing at the airport to investigate their cases.
- Determine whether a removal order exists
An immigration attorney can review immigration-court records, prior notices, USCIS filings, border encounters, and available government records. You may also check the publicly available EOIR Case Information System: https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/caseInformation
This is especially important for anyone who:- Was released at the border and given paperwork;
- Moved after entering the United States;
- Missed a court hearing;
- Was represented by an attorney who is no longer practicing;
- Filed an asylum application years ago; or
- Was told that the case was “closed” without receiving a written order.
- Review the risks before purchasing a ticket
The fact that someone has flown safely before does not mean the next trip is safe. Enforcement priorities and government information-sharing practices have changed.
The analysis should include the traveler’s status, removal history, pending applications, criminal history, manner of entry, and the reason for travel. - Carry appropriate identification and immigration documents
Travelers should carry genuine, unexpired identification. Depending on the person’s status, it may also be appropriate to carry a green card, employment-authorization document, I-94, proof of a pending application, immigration-court order, or other evidence of lawful status.
Never use false documents or falsely claim U.S. citizenship. A false claim to citizenship can create devastating immigration consequences. - Create an emergency plan
Before traveling, provide a trusted person with:- The complete itinerary;
- Airline and flight numbers;
- Departure and arrival times;
- Copies of identification and immigration documents;
- The traveler’s A-number;
- The attorney’s contact information;
- Current medication information;
- Family and childcare instructions; and
- Access to important immigration records.
The traveler should establish a specific check-in plan after passing through security and after landing.
- Do not run, resist, or provide false information
Running or physically resisting may escalate the encounter and can lead to criminal allegations or claims that force was necessary.
A person may calmly ask:- “Are you ICE?”
- “Am I under arrest?”
- “Am I free to leave?”
- “Do you have a warrant?”
- “May I speak with my attorney?”
A person should not lie, present false documents, or sign paperwork that has not been understood.
- Use the right to remain silent carefully
A detained person may state:
“I wish to remain silent. I want to speak with my attorney.”
The traveler should provide identifying information when legally required but should not begin guessing about immigration history, prior entries, court cases, or criminal matters.
Anything said during the encounter may later be placed into an immigration report and used in removal proceedings. - Do not sign away rights
ICE may present documents concerning removal, voluntary departure, stipulated removal, waivers, or other immigration actions.
A frightened traveler may sign simply because an officer says that doing so will result in quicker release. The consequences may be permanent.
Do not sign a document that you do not understand. Request an interpreter and an opportunity to consult with an attorney.
What Families Should Do After an Airport Arrest
When a traveler fails to arrive or stops responding, family members should immediately record:- The airport and terminal;
- Flight number and itinerary;
- The last known location and time of contact;
- What the traveler was wearing;
- Whether the traveler passed through TSA;
- Names or badge numbers of any officers;
- Photographs or videos from witnesses; and
- Statements made by airport or airline employees.
The family should then contact immigration counsel. The attorney may need to determine whether the person is being held temporarily at the airport, transported to an ICE field office, transferred to a detention facility, or placed onto a removal flight.
Transfers can happen quickly. A person arrested in one state may be moved to a detention center hundreds or thousands of miles away.
The New Reality of Domestic Air Travel
The most important lesson from these recent cases is simple:
For immigrants with unresolved status or an old immigration case, domestic air travel is no longer merely a transportation decision. It may be an immigration-enforcement event. Bottomline: avoid any unnecessary travel, especially by air.
ICE now appears able to use passenger information collected through ordinary air travel to identify when and where a targeted immigrant will appear. Airports offer agents a controlled environment, verified identification, surveillance cameras, security infrastructure, and a traveler whose movements are predictable.
No one should assume that a domestic ticket, a valid state driver’s license, or prior uneventful travel means that ICE cannot make an arrest.
Before flying, immigrants with any uncertainty about their legal status should have their complete immigration history reviewed by an experienced attorney. A short consultation before travel may prevent a family from learning—too late—that an old removal order has turned an ordinary trip into an arrest and detention.
This article provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. Every immigration case is different, and travelers should obtain individualized advice before making travel decisions.
Applicants should also remember that a referral is not the end of the case. It is the beginning of a much more formal—and potentially much more dangerous—stage of the asylum process.
The Bottom Line
DHS presents the rule as a way to reduce USCIS’s affirmative-asylum backlog, which exceeded 1.4 million pending cases at the end of fiscal year 2025. DHS estimates that more than 132,000 future applicants per year may potentially be referred without an interview because of filing bars, mandatory bars, or discretionary concerns. The agency also estimates that hundreds of thousands of currently pending cases could be affected.
But efficiency for the government can carry serious consequences for the applicant.
An asylum interview was often the first meaningful opportunity for a person to explain trauma, clarify a confusing history, or correct mistakes made in an application prepared years earlier. Under the new rule, that opportunity may not come until the applicant is already standing before an immigration judge in removal proceedings.
Anyone with a pending affirmative asylum application should now assume that the written record matters more than ever—and that USCIS may decide where the case goes next without first hearing the applicant’s story.
