ICE Expands Airport Arrests to Target Visa Overstays Across U.S.
The Trump administration has significantly expanded immigration enforcement at U.S. airports by arresting foreign nationals with expired visas, including many who have pending applications to remain in the country legally, according to a report by The New York Times.
The new enforcement effort marks a broader phase in the administration’s mass deportation campaign, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers reportedly making arrests at check-in counters and boarding gates in at least 15 airports across the United States in recent weeks.
Those detained include spouses of U.S. citizens, skilled workers awaiting visa extensions, former exchange visitors, and asylum applicants. Many had valid work permits and were waiting for decisions on green card or visa applications but were nonetheless considered deportable due to expired visas.
The report says the operation appears to be an expansion of an information-sharing arrangement between the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and ICE. Previously, the program primarily targeted individuals with final deportation orders. It now reportedly includes visa overstays, greatly expanding the number of people subject to airport enforcement.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the administration is working to ensure that people living in the U.S. illegally “can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport,” though the department did not officially confirm the expanded airport operation.
The arrests come as the White House pushes ICE to increase immigration enforcement nationwide. The administration has reportedly set a target of 2,000 immigration arrests per day—roughly double the pace seen earlier this year.
Immigration attorneys say the policy represents a major shift. In previous years, individuals with pending immigration benefits, such as visa extensions or adjustment-of-status applications, were generally not detained unless they had committed serious crimes.
Lawyers across the country now advise clients with pending immigration cases to avoid domestic air travel whenever possible.
Among the reported cases is Chantal Morales Rojas, a 27-year-old Ecuadorian former au pair who was detained while boarding a domestic flight from Denver after overstaying her J-1 visa despite having a pending immigration application and work authorization. An immigration judge later granted her release on a $3,000 bond.
Another reported case involved a Ugandan asylum seeker with sickle cell anemia who was detained while traveling in a wheelchair despite having an active asylum application.
Immigration lawyers argue that many of those arrested have complied with U.S. immigration procedures, passed background checks, and were legally authorized to work while awaiting decisions on their applications.
The expansion of airport enforcement has raised concerns among immigration advocates, who warn that routine domestic travel is becoming increasingly risky for noncitizens with unresolved immigration cases, even when they have pending legal applications before U.S. immigration authorities.
