U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly arrested over 800 individuals using traveler data shared by federal airport security officials since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term through Feb. 2026, according to internal agency records reviewed by Reuters.
Data gathered by the outlet indicates that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) provided ICE with records “on more than 31,000 travelers for possible immigration enforcement.”
The 31,000 leads were obtained through the TSA’s Secure Flight Program – a “risk-based” vetting system created in 2007 that allows the agency to match “passenger information against government watchlists for domestic and international flights into, out of, or over the U.S.,” according to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) respective webpage.
“The program was intended as a counter-terrorism measure, not to track down immigration offenders, according to the regulation outlining its purpose,” Reuters reported.
The news outlet reported that it could not determine the number of arrests at airports yet affirmed that the records provided by TSA served as tools that helped ICE officers determine when a person would be traveling.
According to Reuters, ICE officers have detained several travelers in U.S. airports, including a college student on her way to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family and an Irish couple who were apprehended in front of their children.
Historically, both ICE and TSA have shared information related to national security threats. Since President Trump’s second term, both agencies have prioritized routine immigration arrests as part of the president’s mass immigration crackdown.
Both ICE and TSA fall under DHS jurisdiction.
Most recently, President Trump deployed ICE officers to U.S. airports to supplement TSA workers amid a partial government shutdown that has been in effect since Feb. 13, 2026.
According to The Latin Times, White House border czar Tom Homan affirmed that ICE agents would remain in place until airports revert to normal operations.”
