U. S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has expanded deportation operations to at least 15 domestic airports, driven by a data-sharing agreement with the Transportation Security Administration signed in May 2025.
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Federal data from the Deportation Data Project shows ICE recorded 568 airport-related arrests between Jan. 20, 2025, and March 10, 2026.
That is a fivefold increase compared to 108 arrests during the same period before President Donald Trump's second term.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport saw 220 arrests after the inauguration, up from five in the earlier timeframe.
Previously, over half of airport detentions occurred at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico.
The enforcement rise stems from TSA providing tips to ICE about noncitizen travelers without criminal records, especially those suspected of civil visa overstays or with pending applications.
An internal document revealed ICE made over 800 arrests after TSA shared travel data on more than 31,000 individuals.
Average daily ICE arrests overall have more than tripled compared to the final year of the Biden administration.
Policy Shift and Reactions
Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an associate policy analyst for the Migration Policy Institute, commented on the agency's strategy.
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"So it's an effort to increase arrest numbers as opposed to sort of the larger narrative that ICE is after the 'worst of the worst,'" Putzel-Kavanaugh said.
She noted that domestic travel previously posed few risks for individuals with pending applications.
