# US airport immigration enforcement expansion > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/us-airport-immigration-enforcement-expansion > Updated: 2026-08-06T18:38:08.000Z. Sources: 23. Developments: 4. 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. ## Timeline ### 2026-08-06: Mexico and United States tighten airport immigration enforcement Mexico enforces stricter passport checks at key airports while U.S. airlines resist ICE's expanded airport arrests, highlighting rising immigration enforcement at airports. 4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/mexico-and-united-states-tighten-airport-immigration-enforcement ### 2026-07-31: ICE detentions surge at U.S. airports amid new immigration enforcement ICE detentions at U.S. airports have risen sharply, prompting CHIRLA to issue a rare travel warning and sparking calls for airports to warn travelers about TSA‑ICE data sharing. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/ice-detentions-surge-at-us-airports-amid-new-immigration-enforcement ### 2026-07-31: US Airports Targeted for Increased Immigration Detentions The Trump administration is expanding immigration enforcement to U.S. commercial airports, with CBP and ICE intensifying document checks on domestic flights, sparking civil‑rights concerns over profiling and a‑ 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/us-airports-targeted-for-increased-immigration-detentions ### 2026-07-29: ICE expands airport arrests of travelers with expired visas across the United States ICE and TSA have begun arresting travelers with expired visas at 15 U.S. airports, aiming for 2,000 daily arrests; cases include an Argentinian man and a Ukrainian woman, prompting lawyers to advise non‑citizen 15 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/ice-airport-raids-in-bay-area-prompt-travel-warnings-for-noncitizens --- Cite as: US airport immigration enforcement expansion. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/us-airport-immigration-enforcement-expansion