TSA Shared 31,000 Traveler Tips With ICE, Leading to 800 Arrests

Internal ICE data has revealed that the Transportation Security Administration forwarded records on more than 31,000 travelers to immigration enforcement authorities between the start of the Trump administration and February 2026, a data-sharing pipeline that produced more than 800 arrests, a figure far above what was previously publicly known.

ICE and TSA are both components of the Department of Homeland Security. The agencies have historically shared information related to national security threats, but they began focusing on routine immigration arrests last year as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation effort. Reuters could not determine how many of those arrests took place inside airports, though TSA tips would mainly be useful in determining when a person would be traveling.

The TSA's Secure Flight system, which gives authorities the ability to assess passenger information against government watch lists, was the mechanism used to generate leads. Internal ICE records show a dramatic expansion in the use of airport security data for immigration enforcement, with authorities targeting travelers for civil violations and removal orders. Critics argue this application deviates from Secure Flight's original counter-terrorism purpose, a program never designed to serve as an immigration dragnet.

The arrest of Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and her 9-year-old daughter, Wendy Godinez-Lopez, at San Francisco International Airport on March 22 crystallized the debate. The two were reportedly flagged by TSA to ICE after appearing on a passenger list. Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter first came to the United States in 2018. They were placed on a deportation flight bound for Guatemala shortly after video of the arrest went viral. The mother and daughter had no criminal histories but carried a deportation order, underscoring advocates' concerns that the referral system captures individuals who pose no public safety threat.

In the aftermath of that arrest, Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff directed an inquiry to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, and ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons, requesting a full briefing on the immigration status and citizenship data TSA collects during screenings, the agency's policy on contacting ICE, and the timeline for when TSA began initiating arrests at airports.

The Trump administration has framed the interagency data-sharing as vital for national security, but civil liberties advocates argue it represents an alarming expansion of surveillance and a violation of privacy rights. Advocacy groups have further noted that some database matches fail to reflect an individual's current legal status or pending claims for relief, including asylum and post-conviction relief, raising the risk that people with viable defenses are swept into enforcement actions before those claims can be heard.

In March 2026, ICE also began deploying agents directly to U.S. airports in response to TSA staffing shortages caused by a partial DHS funding shutdown. Although framed as operational support, the expanded ICE presence at airport checkpoints increased the visible enforcement footprint at major travel hubs nationwide.

The 31,000-to-800 ratio, one arrest for roughly every 39 referrals, leaves unanswered questions about what standards govern which traveler records get passed along and what audits, if any, exist to review the accuracy of those flags. Without public rules governing data retention and clear remedies for wrongful referrals, the airports that millions of Americans move through each day have quietly become a front line for immigration enforcement with few guardrails in public view.