TSA Is Feeding ICE Tips on Noncitizen Travelers, Driving a Wave of Airport Immigration Arrests

ICE sources told CBS News on July 29 that a rise in immigration arrests at U.S. airports stems from expanded information sharing between the Transportation Security Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. TSA has been passing ICE details on noncitizen travelers, including people without criminal records who are suspected of civil violations such as overstaying a visa, and TSA screeners are increasingly giving ICE tips and leads that the agency uses to arrest and process people for deportation. A May 2025 TSA-ICE information-sharing agreement was disclosed the same week by the group American Oversight. Immigration attorneys reported enforcement actions at at least 15 airports in recent weeks. The Department of Homeland Security said it "reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country."

Domestic air travel has not historically functioned as an immigration checkpoint for people without criminal records, and those reportedly caught up in the arrests include travelers with pending immigration applications or valid work permits. One ICE source described airport travelers as "easy targets" who can be detained in secured areas with case information known in advance, at a time when the White House has pressed the agency toward a target of 2,000 arrests a day.

DHS has not published a formal rule or policy describing the change, and the practice has been documented primarily through the disclosed agreement, attorney accounts and agency sources rather than an announced directive.