Overview
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stepped up airport activity, carrying out an estimated 12 to 36 arrests per day last month according to government figures.
- The Transportation Security Administration has shared passenger manifests with ICE since last summer so agents can screen travelers for possible immigration targets, a practice that reporting says has led to hundreds of arrests.
- ICE officers have shifted from outside checkpoints into gates, jet bridges and ticket areas, producing confrontations that included a July 20 Denver jet-bridge arrest and a July 25 Dallas incident where a gate agent refused to let an officer board without a judicial warrant.
- ICE says a pending immigration case or a work permit does not bar the agency from arresting someone whose visa has expired, while airlines and unions say the tactics risk passenger privacy, worker safety and violate internal policies.
- Industry groups have met with Department of Homeland Security staff and are formally rebuffing some boarding and jet-bridge requests after FOIA disclosures of TSA-ICE data sharing, increasing the likelihood of legal challenges and congressional oversight.