By The Opinion
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) detained at least 800 immigrants at airports until February 2026.
This after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shared more than 31,000 traveler records since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The information was collected from the TSA Secure Flight Program, created in 2007 to identify and match potential terrorists to watch lists, not to track immigration violators, according to a Reuters report.
However, the number of people arrested and on the lists of alleged terrorists stands out.
On March 22, however, ICE detained two women, whose information was shared by the TSA to the agency. Both are undocumented people, but there are no reports that they are on terrorist lists.
Angelina López-Jiménez, 41, was with her daughter, Wendy Godínez-López, at the air terminal in San Diego, California, to take a flight to Miami, Florida, with the purpose of visiting a relative.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the exchange of information between ICE and the TSAboth agencies of the department now led by Markwayne Mullin.
“This is nothing new,” a spokesperson said.
In a statement, the spokesperson made reference to the travel of undocumented immigrants in the country.
“TSA and DHS will no longer tolerate the horrendous know-how policy [Joe] Biden that allowed undocumented foreigners to travel throughout the country without identification,” he indicated.
However, No person can travel by plane in the US without official identificationso you must even use a foreign passport.
Immigrant arrests could increase at airports, due to the deployment of immigration agents at airports, after the closure of DHS due to lack of budget approved by Congress.
In addition to the arrests of López-Jiménez and his daughter Other arrests have been reported at airportsthree immigration lawyers confirmed to the Reuters agency, although not all cases have reached the media.
“The real story here is the way the databases are being used,” Democratic Rep. John Garamendi (California) told Unique York Cases.
In addition to TSA information, immigration agencies have used information from other agencies to locate undocumented immigrants and detain them, this includes the IRS and the Social Security or SSA officer.
People without papers to stay in the US should take greater precautions when traveling between states by air and consult with a certified attorney about their options.
Keep reading:
• Tom Homan questions Democrats for their rejection of the presence of ICE in voting centers
• Greg Bovino, former immigration official, railed against the White House strategy
• TSA agents criticize the arrival of ICE at airports
