ICE Arrests at Airports

The Trump (R) Administration has begun Arresting Foreign Citizens with Eexpired U.S. Visas as they travel through Airports, including U.S. Spouses of Americans. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agents in Plain Clothes, have whisked away Targets at Check-in-Counters and Arrival Gates, with Enforcement Actions in at least 15 Airports in recent Weeks. Some of the Arrests have occurred Quietly, while others have happened as Angry Fellow Passengers.

The recent Arrests appear to be an Expansion of an Arrangement between the Transportation Security (TSA) and (ICE). Now, through a Rreview of Homeland Security Department (DHS) Documents, and Interviews with Lawyers for more than 25 People from more than a Dozen Countries recently Detained at Airports.

Hundreds of Thousands of Immigrants and Visitors Overstay Visas each Year. Many with Expired Visas occupy a Legal Gray area, as they are Awaiting Visa Extensions or Green Cards, and have been Issued Work Permits. Such Iindividuals were Not Prioritized for Deportation in the Past unless they had Committed Crimes, and they were rarely Detained while Waiting for Visa Extensions or Green Cards. But that has Changed under Trump, whose Administration has Undertaken a Campaign of Mass Deportation and Views All Visa Overstays as Illegal.

“This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly, unless it is out of our country to self-deport,” a Spokesperson for the DHS said in a Statement. The Agency did Not Cconfirm the Expansion of the Program.

The DHS which Oversees ICE, has Not Disclosed how many People have been detained at Airports, as Overstays under the New Initiative. The Arrests come during a period in which the White House has Pushed ICE for more Arrests across the u.s., and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin (R) has Ppledged to turn “up the heat on the streets.” To that End, the Administration has set a Target of 2,000 Immigration Arrests a Day, roughly Double the Pace from Earlier 2026.

Interviews with more than a Dozen Immigration Attorneys, Advocacy Organizations, and an Airline Employees, Reveal a Broad Cross-Section of Targets. Footage of Encounters between Travelers and ICE Officers have flooded Social Media.

Shannon Shepherd, an ImmigrationLlawyer, who is Vice Chair for the Chicago Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), said She and other Lawyers were Revising longstanding Advice about Domestic Air Travel. “Before, I was saying, ‘As long as you have an ID, you can travel domestically,’” Ms. Shepherd said. “Now I am turning around and saying, ‘If you are in the process of changing status, avoid any travel.’”

The Original Collaboration between TSA and ICE began in May 2025, when TSA started Sharing Information with the ICE , according to a Document, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from TSA. ICE Shared Names of Individuals with Deportation Orders with the Airport Agency, which would Run them through its Ddatabases and Report any Hits to ICE for Potential Arrest. It was a Remarkable Shift from Past Practices, when the Federal Government A involving the TSA, in iICE Enforcement for Fear of Disrupting Domestic Travel.

Now, “the net they are casting for people they want to detain is far wider,” said Ghassan Shamieh, an Immigration Lawyer in San Francisco. “It’s not people with criminal records” being Targeted, Shamieh said. “You are talking about people with legitimate pending applications.” Shamieh has Four Clients who were Detained at Airports in the last 10 days, including Two Women who recently Married Americans,and are in the Process of Obtaining Permanent Residency through their Spouses. One of the Husbands was with His Wife, when She was taken into Custody after they Landed in Burbank, Calif.

On 7/28/2026 Morning, an Immigration Judge Granted Her Release on a $35,000 Bond. But DHS LawyersRreserved the Right to Appeal within 30 days, and She is likely to Remain Detained until they Decide. Morales Rojas, the Au Pair, entered the U.S. Lawfully in 1/2023 as a J-1 Eexchange Visitor, a Legal Status that Allowed Her to Work for Two years, according to Her Lawyer. Her Visa Expired 2/4/2025, according to DHS. Before the Exchange Program Ended, Ms. Morales Rojas Filed an Application with Immigration Authorities to Remain in the Country, said the Lawyer, Laura Lichter.

“During the last three and a half years, Morales Rojas lived openly in the U.S. with the government’s knowledge of Her pending case, passed repeated background checks, and received work authorization from DHS. While waiting for Her Application to be reviewed,” Ms. Lichter said. “The process she’s pursuing is completely lawful.” But DHS Officials said in a Statement that “in violation of our nation’s laws, she overstayed her visa.” On 7/27/2026 Aafternoon, a Judge Granted Her Release on a $3,000 Bond, and She is likely to leave Detention by 7/28/2026y.

Ms. Lichter has Filed Suit Challenging the Government’s Decision to Arrest and Detain Ms. Morales Rojas Without a Proper Arrest Warrant and without an Individualized Determination that Ddetention was necessary Lauren and Scott Cahr, Her FormerEemployers, said they had Hired Ms. Morales Rojas when their First Child, Silas, was 6 months old. The Cahrs said in an Interview that they had Flown Ms. Morales Rojas to Denver during an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament that they Attended, and She had Helped Care for Silas and His little Brother.










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