ice arrested over 800 people using tsa passenger information in a move that federal records now show stretched from the start of Donald Trump’s presidency through February 2026. Internal ICE data reviewed on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, shows the arrests came after tips shared by federal airport security officials, far beyond what had been publicly known. The records point to a widening use of airport passenger information for immigration enforcement, even as the agencies involved sit inside the same department.
More than 31, 000 traveler records fed the arrests
The data show the Transportation Security Administration supplied ICE with records on more than 31, 000 travelers for possible immigration enforcement. The leads came from the TSA’s Secure Flight Program, which was created in 2007 to review passenger information for people who may be on U. S. government watchlists.
Officials involved in the system have historically shared information tied to national security threats, but the records now indicate the agencies began focusing on routine immigration arrests last year as part of Trump’s mass deportation effort. The exact number of arrests inside airports could not be determined from the data, although the passenger tips would mainly help identify when a person was traveling.
ICE Arrested Over 800 People Using Tsa Passenger Information as airport tensions grew
The internal figures arrive amid a wider fight over immigration enforcement at airports. U. S. airports and immigration policy have been at the center of a partisan funding standoff since mid-February, when Democrats refused to support additional money for Trump’s immigration crackdown without reforms to reduce aggressive tactics.
That fight blocked a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security and caused TSA security officers to miss at least two full paychecks. After some unpaid TSA officers began calling in sick, Trump deployed ICE officers to more than a dozen airports in March to help security efforts.
Democrats have criticized the deployment and called for ICE officers to be removed from airports. In a letter last week, more than 40 House Democrats told Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that the officers “will cause confusion and fear” if they remain in place.
Immediate reactions and the broader airport backlash
DHS did not answer questions about TSA sharing passenger information with ICE, but said TSA under Trump is “pursuing solutions that improve resiliency, security, and efficiency across our entire system. ” The department did not dispute that the agencies are both part of DHS.
Backlash has also grown after several airport arrests drew attention. ICE detained a college student traveling from Boston to Texas to celebrate Thanksgiving in November and arrested a sobbing mother at San Francisco International Airport the day before Trump’s airport deployment began. DHS defended both arrests and said they were subject to final orders of removal.
What comes next
The internal data leaves open important questions about how often passenger information will continue to be used for immigration enforcement, and how far airport security work will stretch beyond its original mission. For now, the records show a sharp expansion in coordination that puts ice arrested over 800 people using tsa passenger information at the center of a broader political and operational fight inside the Department of Homeland Security.
