US airport immigration enforcement expansion

In late July 2026 ICE, working with the Transportation Security Administration, began arresting foreign nationals with expired visas at an expanding set of U.S. airports, targeting roughly 2,000 daily arrests and prompting plans for four new detention facilities. The effort quickly broadened to include identity checks on domestic flights, with agents verifying passengers at boarding gates and baggage claim areas, raising civil‑rights concerns about profiling and constitutional limits.

By the end of July the pace of detentions surged. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) issued a travel advisory after a wave of arrests at major hubs—including LAX, SFO and airports in Nevada, Colorado, Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia. Detainees now include visa overstayers, individuals with pending green‑card or asylum applications, and others with authorized stays, even when they have no criminal history or removal order. Notable cases, such as the arrest of a Ukrainian woman without a deportation order, illustrate the expanded risk. Privacy expert Edward Hasbrouck warned that TSA‑ICE data sharing enables warrant‑less arrests and urged airports to post warnings and review contracts. At least 11 Bay Area residents have been detained in the past three weeks, and CHIRLA advises immigrants to evaluate travel necessity, seek legal counsel, and consider postponing nonessential trips.

In early August, Mexican immigration authorities began enforcing strict passport‑validity checks at regional airports such as Querétaro, Puebla, Toluca and Ciudad Juárez, denying boarding or detaining travelers with expired documents. Simultaneously, U.S. airlines have pressed the Department of Homeland Security for clearer limits on ICE arrests inside terminals. ICE reported 12‑36 arrests per day, far below its 2,000‑a‑day goal, and the detention of researcher Fatima Ameaka at Baltimore‑Washington International Airport prompted Airlines for America to call for standardized procedures and safeguards.