The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has launched operations to detain foreign nationals with expired visas at airports. According to documents obtained by The New York Times (NYT) and interviews with immigration lawyers, plainclothes immigration officers have carried out detentions at check-in counters and boarding gates at at least 15 airports in recent weeks.
As part of the practice, data sharing between the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and ICE has been expanded. According to documents obtained by the nonprofit American Oversight through freedom of information laws, this close cooperation began in May 2025. ICE shares the names of those with deportation orders with the TSA, which then identifies them through airport security systems.
Those with Pending Legal Applications Also Targeted
Operations that previously targeted only those with deportation orders now also cover individuals whose visas have expired but who have applied for residency or work permits. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said, "Foreign nationals who are in the country illegally will no longer be allowed to fly unless they voluntarily leave the country."
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and tourists remain in the U.S. each year after their visas expire, many in legal limbo while applying for visa extensions or green cards. The Trump administration, however, considers all visa violators illegal and aims to increase daily detentions to 2,000.
Detentions Across Different Profiles
Lawyers interviewed by the NYT said those detained included an engineer awaiting a work visa extension, individuals recently married to U.S. citizens, and a former au pair participant.
In Denver on July 20, 27-year-old Ecuadorian Shantal Morales Rojas, who was about to board a flight to Oakland, was detained by plainclothes agents after scanning her boarding pass. A family friend recorded the moment on a cellphone. Her lawyer stated that Morales Rojas entered legally on a J-1 visa, applied for an extension before it expired, and obtained a work permit. Despite this, she was ordered released on $3,000 bail on July 28.
Similarly, a Ugandan woman who uses a wheelchair and has applied for asylum, and an Australian citizen with an expired visa were also detained at airports. The Australian was caught again a day later in Los Angeles due to a disturbance in Las Vegas.
Immigration lawyers say the practice targets "a much broader group" and that they are now advising clients, whom they previously told "if you have ID, you can fly" for domestic flights, not to travel. Atlanta-based attorney Charles Kuck said he has never seen anything like this in his 38-year career.
