TSA sharing information with ICE has increased in recent months, resulting in a string of airport arrests that have spread widely on social media, according to officials and internal accounts.
Screeners at the Transportation Security Administration are more frequently alerting Immigration and Customs Enforcement to foreign nationals suspected of attempting domestic air travel while not being in the country legally, according to a report published Wednesday.
One unidentified ICE official described airline passengers as “easy targets” whose arrests can help the agency meet a White House objective of 2,000 apprehensions per day, the report said. Another ICE source reportedly warned it would be “stupid” for anyone without legal status to attempt air travel within the United States.
The stepped-up coordination represents a significant departure from prior practice that allowed many undocumented immigrants and foreign nationals with expired visas to travel domestically unless they had criminal histories or raised safety concerns, the report said.
In a Thursday statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson did not dispute the characterization, saying that identifying who is trying to travel in the country is necessary to keep air travel and the nation safe. The spokesperson added that officials are working to ensure that people in the country illegally can no longer fly unless departing the United States to self-deport.
President Donald Trump has reiterated plans for what he calls the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history, targeting 1 million removals annually.
Recent videos posted online show uniformed ICE agents at airports detaining travelers suspected of immigration violations.
One widely viewed clip, with 1.7 million views, shows the July 20 arrest of Ecuadorian national Chantal Morales Rojas, 27, at Denver International Airport in Colorado. DHS has said Morales Rojas overstayed a visa that expired in January 2025. An immigration judge ordered her released on a $3,000 bond on Wednesday, local television reports said. Her attorneys have stated she has no criminal record and was authorized to work while pursuing an application to remain in the country.
Another video shows ICE officers tackling Australian national Phu Nguyen, 57, at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 13. He cried out as agents attempted to handcuff him, according to accounts of the incident. The episode drew criticism from Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, who said ICE was acting with impunity and scaring tourists, which harms the state’s tourism economy.
The attempted arrest ended when bystanders intervened. Nguyen then flew to Los Angeles, where he was taken into custody for allegedly overstaying a two-year visa that expired in 2015, according to subsequent reports.
TSA sharing information with ICE detailed in agreement
The report on expanded TSA tips to ICE followed the release by American Oversight of a redacted May 2025 memorandum of agreement between the agencies, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The watchdog group said the document raises questions about acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill’s sworn testimony earlier this year on how TSA and ICE exchange traveler information. In a statement, the group noted McNeill told lawmakers that TSA does not send information to ICE but helps the agency check against TSA data.
The memorandum appears to outline a formal data-sharing framework and procedures for ICE to retain information obtained from TSA, which the group said conflicts with that description. A TSA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US border and security policy concerns have also emerged in foreign capitals, including over how enforcement actions affect regional stability and diplomacy, as seen when US-Iran fighting overshadowed an ASEAN meeting in Manila.