Federal immigration officials in the United States have ramped up enforcement actions at airports nationwide, detaining foreign nationals found with expired visas. This crackdown, carried out by plainclothes agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has taken place at check-in counters and arrival gates in at least 15 airports.
The detainees include a diverse group of individuals such as an engineer awaiting work visa renewal, spouses of US citizens pursuing permanent residency, and a Ugandan asylum seeker with a disability. Among those affected are Kenyan nationals, highlighting the broad impact of the intensified measures.
One notable incident involved Chantal Morales Rojas, a 27-year-old Ecuadorian former au pair, who was detained while boarding a domestic flight after an alert was triggered during boarding pass scanning. She was released on bond after a judge intervened, and her legal team has since challenged the legality of her arrest.
At Las Vegas airport, an Australian citizen was initially released but later detained when attempting to board a flight in Los Angeles. Other detainees have faced high bond amounts, with some remaining in custody pending appeals.
Coordination Between TSA and ICE
The intensified airport enforcement is a result of a collaboration initiated in May 2025 between the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and ICE. TSA shares traveler data with ICE, allowing immigration officers to identify individuals with outstanding deportation orders or visa overstays. This partnership now targets visa overstays, a significantly larger group than previously focused on.
Government figures indicate that hundreds of thousands of people annually remain in the US beyond their visa expiration dates. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that these operations aim to prevent undocumented individuals from using domestic flights except for voluntary departure.
Previously, individuals with pending immigration applications and no criminal record were rarely arrested for visa overstays. The current administration treats any overstay as grounds for enforcement, marking a shift in immigration policy and enforcement practices.
Impact on Immigration Legal Advice
Immigration attorneys report that this new approach has forced a change in their guidance, often advising clients with pending cases to avoid domestic air travel entirely to reduce the risk of detention. Charles Kuck, a veteran immigration lawyer, remarked that in his nearly four decades of practice, he has never witnessed such widespread airport detentions.
