Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 800 individuals using passenger information provided by the Transportation Security Administration, according to internal ICE data obtained by Reuters, which raises questions about the scope of federal airport security programs originally designed for counterterrorism.
TSA Program Shares 31,000 Traveler Records
The Transportation Security Administration forwarded information on 31,000 travelers to ICE for potential immigration enforcement actions from the beginning of President Donald Trump’s current term through February 2026. The data came from TSA’s Secure Flight Program, established in 2007 to screen passenger information against federal watch lists as a counterterrorism measure, not to identify immigration violations. Reuters could not determine how many arrests occurred inside airports, though the TSA tips proved valuable for tracking when individuals planned to travel.
High-Profile Cases Draw Scrutiny
Immigration attorneys told Reuters they have handled multiple cases of individuals without legal status arrested at domestic airports. An Irish couple who lived in America for over 20 years was detained in 2025 by immigration authorities in front of their children while attempting to travel from Florida to New York following a vacation. The parents, who had pending permanent residency applications, were deported and left their two children, ages 7 and 10, with adult siblings in the United States. In November, ICE officers detained a college student traveling from Boston to Texas for Thanksgiving celebrations.
Political Dispute Over Airport Enforcement
The Department of Homeland Security defended the arrests and stated that those detained were subject to final orders of removal. President Trump announced in March that he would deploy federal immigration officers to address long airport security lines during a partial government shutdown unless Democrats agreed to fund DHS. Democrats pledged to oppose DHS funding without reforms following an immigration crackdown in Minnesota that resulted in the deadly shootings of two protesters. Over 40 House Democrats wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin last week, warning that ICE officers at airports will cause confusion and fear, demanding their removal from airport facilities.