Federal immigration enforcement officers have taken more than 800 people into custody based on information provided by airport security personnel since President Donald Trump’s current administration began, according to internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement records obtained by Reuters.
The Transportation Security Administration provided ICE with information on more than 31,000 travelers who could potentially face immigration enforcement actions, the documents reveal. This number significantly exceeds what had been previously disclosed to the public.
Reuters was unable to confirm how many of these detentions occurred within airport facilities, though TSA intelligence would primarily help determine travelers’ schedules and whereabouts.
Both ICE and TSA operate under the Department of Homeland Security umbrella. While these agencies have traditionally exchanged information regarding national security concerns, they shifted focus toward standard immigration enforcement last year as part of Trump’s expanded deportation initiative.
The traveler information came through TSA’s Secure Flight Program, established in 2007 to enable the agency to screen passenger data against federal government watchlists. The program’s original design targeted terrorism prevention rather than immigration violations, according to its founding regulations.
When asked about TSA sharing passenger details with ICE, DHS officials did not provide specific responses but stated that under Trump’s leadership, TSA “is pursuing solutions that improve resiliency, security, and efficiency across our entire system.”
Data showing arrests and traveler information exchanges between TSA and ICE from previous administrations was not available for comparison.
Airport operations and immigration enforcement have become central to a political budget dispute since mid-February, when Democratic lawmakers rejected additional funding for the Republican president’s immigration policies without accompanying reforms to reduce aggressive enforcement methods.
This political deadlock prevented passage of DHS funding legislation, resulting in TSA security personnel missing multiple full paychecks. When unpaid TSA workers began reporting sick in significant numbers, Trump sent ICE agents to over a dozen airports in March to support security operations.
Democratic officials have condemned this deployment and demanded the Trump administration withdraw these personnel. More than 40 House Democrats sent correspondence to newly appointed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin last week, stating that ICE officers “will cause confusion and fear” if they continue operating in airports.
Multiple incidents involving ICE agents detaining travelers at U.S. airports have generated public criticism.
Immigration officers apprehended a college student traveling from Boston to Texas for Thanksgiving celebrations in November and arrested a distraught mother at San Francisco International Airport one day before Trump’s airport deployment initiative launched.
DHS officials justified both arrests, explaining that the individuals were subject to final removal orders.
Reuters interviewed three immigration lawyers familiar with cases involving people without legal immigration status being detained at airports.
Attorney Christina Canty described one case involving an Irish couple who had resided in the United States for over twenty years and were detained by immigration authorities in front of their children while attempting to fly from Florida to New York following a vacation.
The parents, who had submitted applications for permanent residency, were ultimately deported and forced to leave their two young children, ages 7 and 10, in the care of adult siblings in the United States, Canty explained.
Another case involved a Chinese woman with a final removal order who was seeking permanent residence and was detained by ICE at the Atlanta airport while traveling to Philadelphia, according to one of the attorneys.
