Major U.S. airlines are in talks with the Trump administration about the sudden uptick in federal immigration arrests inside airports, the Washington Examiner has learned.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has put a greater focus on arresting illegal immigrants in the United States as they attempt to board domestic flights this summer, creating some uneasiness for airline passengers and concern in the aviation sector that airport enforcement could be bad for business.
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Although ICE has focused more of its efforts on detaining individuals at or before Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, several incidents have occurred after security, including at gates.
Just last month, ICE escorted a woman off a jet bridge as she attempted to board a flight in Denver. Chantal Morales Rojas of Ecuador was taken into custody for overstaying a visa and was supposed to have left the country 18 months ago, according to the federal agency.
A spokesperson for Airlines 4 America, the trade association that represents leading U.S. airlines, told the Washington Examiner that airlines are speaking with Department of Homeland Security agencies ICE and the Transportation Security Administration.
“Airlines continue to have constructive discussions with ICE and TSA to ensure if law enforcement activity occurs at an airport, there are proper procedures and protocols in place to prioritize the safety and security of all involved, including travelers, employees and agents,” Airlines 4 America wrote in an email.
Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and American Airlines did not respond to requests for comment on concerns about how the increased presence of ICE at airports has affected business. Southwest Airlines said it was “committed to providing a safe travel experience for all Customers and Employees.”
“The airline adheres to applicable state and federal law when interacting with law enforcement agencies,” a Southwest Airlines spokesperson wrote in an email. “Southwest has longstanding policies in place to ensure appropriate legal documentation is presented by law enforcement personnel before any information about Customers is shared.”
ICE has linked up with TSA to put deportation officers at security checkpoints where travelers who have failed to leave the United States before their visas expired can be encountered, detained, and possibly arrested and put in immigrant detention facilities, according to multiple reports.
A former senior Trump administration official briefed on the surge in ICE officers at airports told the Washington Examiner that TSA receives advanced travel information 72 hours ahead of a flight. TSA can then screen that information to see who will be showing up at security checkpoints and share it with other federal agencies, such as ICE.
As of late July, ICE had arrested visa overstayers at airports across nine states, including California and Virginia.
ICE’s presence at airports is new and comes as the White House seeks to ramp up illegal immigrant arrests, which hovered around 1,600 per day nationwide as of early July, the highest point in President Donald Trump’s second term.
Although ICE has focused its efforts on arresting the “worst of the worst,” or illegal immigrants with criminal histories, the percentage of noncriminal arrests has grown since the spring.
Two married pastors arrested at a Texas airport last month for overstaying their religious visas were released from federal custody following intervention from Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX).
The church leaders, 36-year-old Nepthali Zozaya Saucedo and 34-year-old Cinthia Sarai Cardona Otero, were supposed to have left the United States by July 7, 2022, and had overstayed their religious visas by more than four years, an offense that makes them deportable by ICE.
Saucedo and Otero were released under ICE’s Alternatives to Detention program and are required to report in person to the agency’s field office in Harlingen, Texas, in six months and to report to ICE virtually once a month, DHS said.
Failing to depart the U.S. prior to a visa deadline is a civil violation of federal law, not a federal crime. However, visa overstayers face automatic visa cancellation, a three-year or 10-year ban on returning to the U.S., and deportation.
