Overview
- A memorandum signed in May 2025 that lets the Transportation Security Administration share passenger data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was made public by a watchdog and widely reported after documents were released on July 28.
- Reporting and agency documents show ICE used the data to identify and detain travelers at check‑in counters, gates, and jetways with at least 27 airport arrests documented so far.
- Videos and witness accounts describe plainclothes ICE officers intercepting people who in some cases held work permits or had pending asylum or green card applications.
- The Department of Homeland Security says the policy is lawful and aims to prevent people in the country unlawfully from flying domestically while civil rights and privacy groups call the practice mission creep that risks chilling travel and exposing sensitive passenger records.
- The FOIA release highlighted differences with prior congressional testimony about how TSA shares information and has prompted growing legal and congressional scrutiny that could lead to new oversight, court challenges, and changes in travel behavior.