Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not simply walking through airports and choosing passengers at random. A formal data-sharing system allows the agency to know who plans to fly, and potentially where and when to find them.
Major U.S. airlines are now speaking with ICE and the Transportation Security Administration amid an increase in immigration arrests at airports, according to an Aug. 12 Washington Examiner report.
The discussions follow arrests at security checkpoints, check-in counters, and boarding gates. Some people have reportedly been removed from boarding areas or intercepted as they attempted to take domestic flights.
The arrests are powered in part by information passengers provide when purchasing airline tickets.
Through its Secure Flight program, TSA collects identifying information from airlines, including passengers' names, dates of birth, and sex. The information was originally used primarily to compare travelers against federal security watch lists.
Airlines generally begin transmitting passenger data approximately 72 hours before departure, although information may be submitted later when a reservation is made closer to the flight. TSA can then screen passengers before they arrive at the airport.
Homeland security reporter Anna Giaritelli wrote on X that TSA can use this advance information to determine who is expected at airport checkpoints and suggested that the agency may share it with ICE. Immigration authorities can then compare the passenger information with their own records and position agents at the airport when a targeted traveler arrives.
ICE is not willy nilly approaching random airline passengers at TSA checkpoints in airports.
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) August 13, 2026
TSA receives advanced traveler information from the airlines 72 hours ahead of departure. At that point, TSA knows who will be showing up at checkpoints in three days and can do its…
The existence of a formal arrangement is no longer speculation.
A memorandum signed by TSA and ICE in May 2025 established procedures for sharing and retaining passenger information. The agreement became public in July after the watchdog organization American Oversight sued the agencies under the Freedom of Information Act.
The document says ICE may provide information to TSA to identify people of interest and that TSA intends to share certain data with ICE. However, the appendices identifying the precise information exchanged were almost entirely redacted.
That secrecy makes it impossible to determine from the public version exactly what information ICE receives or which immigration categories trigger an alert.
TSA supplied ICE with records involving more than 31,000 travelers between the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term and February 2026, according to internal data reported by Reuters. Those referrals resulted in more than 800 arrests, although not all necessarily occurred inside airports.
Recent enforcement appears to have expanded beyond travelers with final removal orders. Attorneys have reported cases involving visa overstayers, asylum applicants, spouses of U.S. citizens and people with pending applications for green cards or employment authorization.
Houston immigration attorney Emily Neumann warned that an expired Form I-94, the arrival and departure record that generally determines how long a noncitizen may remain in the country, does not necessarily provide a complete picture of the traveler's case.
"If ICE is using airline data to target people based simply on an expired I-94, it needs to check the entire immigration record first," Neumann wrote on X. "People should not be detained because ICE failed to check whether they have a pending application authorizing their continued stay."
If ICE is using airline data to target people based simply on an expired I-94, it needs to check the entire immigration record first. An expired I-94 does not tell the whole story, and people should not be detained because ICE failed to check whether they have a pending… https://t.co/62P7Epbt2H
— Emily Neumann (@immigrationgirl) August 13, 2026
The legal distinction is important but complicated.
Someone who submitted a timely application to extend or change nonimmigrant status before an I-94 expired may remain in a period of authorized stay while USCIS considers the request. That does not always mean the person continues to hold lawful immigration status, but it may prevent the accumulation of unlawful presence.
Other pending petitions offer less protection. USCIS states that a pending adjustment-of-status application does not, by itself, place an applicant in lawful immigration status. A family-based immigrant petition also does not automatically protect its beneficiary from removal.
That means neither side of the social media debate applies universally. An expired I-94 does not automatically prove that someone is unlawfully present, but a pending application does not always prevent ICE from detaining that person.
The individual's entry history, type of application, filing date, current status, work authorization and any previous removal order must all be examined.
DHS has defended the partnership, saying information sharing between TSA and ICE helps authorities identify travelers, including violent criminals, and protect the country. TSA has also said it does not provide ICE with the personal information of every passenger.
Airlines, meanwhile, are trying to prevent enforcement operations from disrupting flights or placing employees in the middle of arrests.
"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," Airlines for America told the Washington Examiner.
For immigrants, however, the practical result is already clear: purchasing an airline ticket can give ICE advance notice of their itinerary, turning an ordinary domestic flight into a potential immigration checkpoint.
