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See the full story · 2 sourcesA source within ICE described airline passengers as ‘easy targets’ who can help the agency meet a target of 2,000 arrests a day
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The Transportation Security Administration has reportedly ramped up its sharing of information with ICE leading to airport arrests, some of which have been captured on cellphone videos and gone viral on social media .
TSA screeners are increasingly providing tips about foreign nationals suspected of trying to travel within the U.S. despite not being in the country legally, CBS News reported Wednesday.
One unidentified source within ICE described airline passengers as "easy targets" whose apprehension can help the agency meet a White House target of 2,000 arrests a day, according to CBS News.
An ICE source also reportedly said it would be "stupid" for anyone who's not in the U.S. legally to try to travel within the country by air.
The increased inter-agency cooperation marks a major move away from a policy that previously permitted domestic travel by undocumented immigrants and foreign nationals with expired visas, unless they had criminal records or posed safety concerns, CBS News said.
In a Thursday statement to The Independent , a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson didn’t dispute the report, saying that "identifying who is attempting to travel in our country" was necessary to "keep our skies and our country safe."
The spokesperson also said officials were working to ensure that anyone who's "in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly pledged to carry out the "largest mass deportation program in history," with the goal of 1 million expulsions a year.
Recently posted social media videos have shown uniformed ICE agents milling around in airports and arresting travelers suspected of violating immigration laws.
A video clip that shows Ecuadorian national Chantal Morales Rojas, 27, being arrested July 20 at Denver International Airport in Colorado has been viewed 1.7 million times.
DHS has said that Morales Rojas overstayed a visa that expired in January 2025, but an immigration judge authorized her release on a $3,000 bond Wednesday, Denver TV station KUSA reported.
Morales Rojas's lawyers have said she has no criminal record and received authorization to work in the U.S. pending an application to remain in the country, according to CNN.
Another video clip shows ICE officers tackling Australian national Phu Nguyen, 57, who yelled and cried as they tried to handcuff him at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 13, according to The Associated Press .
That clip drew swift condemnation from Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, who wrote: “ICE is continuing to act with impunity — instilling fear in our communities and scaring tourists, which hurts our tourism economy.”
The attempted arrest of Nguyen, a native of Vietnam, ended when outraged bystanders approached. Nguyen then boarded a flight to Los Angeles, where he was arrested for allegedly overstaying a two-year visa that expired in 2015, according to CNN.
The CBS News report about TSA tips to ICE came one day after the American Oversight group released a redacted copy of the agencies’ May 2025 data-sharing agreement, which it obtained after filing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The government watchdog group said the memorandum of agreement "raises questions about acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill's sworn congressional testimony earlier this year regarding how TSA and ICE exchange traveler information."
"During a House committee hearing, McNeill testified that TSA does not 'send the information to ICE; we help ICE check against [TSA] information,'" American Oversight said in a statement. "The MOA appears to conflict with that characterization by establishing a formal data-sharing arrangement and outlining procedures for ICE to retain information obtained from TSA."
A TSA spokesperson didn't immediately respond to an inquiry from The Independent .
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