The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained more than 1,200 migrants at airports in the United States thanks to data sharing with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), according to a report from Reuters that cites preliminary government data and figures from the Deportation Data Project obtained through public records requests.
The accumulated figure up to early June reveals the extent of a strategy that has transformed airports into one of the main settings for the immigration operations of the Trump administration.
The formal agreement between the TSA and ICE was signed on May 5, 2026, and expanded the scope of operations: from individuals with final deportation orders to those who simply have expired visas, a potentially vast universe of hundreds of thousands of people who, under previous administrations, were not a priority for deportation unless they had criminal records.
Just the fact that their visas have expired has led to the arrest of many people, regardless of whether they then "applied for asylum or married a U.S. citizen and had a path to obtain legal residency."
Las detenciones de ICE en aeropuertos son solo una parte del panorama migratorio en EE.UU. que cambia día a día. Sigue todos los detalles en nuestra sección de
The TSA shared data on more than 31,000 travelers with ICE, resulting in over 800 arrests by April, a figure that exceeded 1,200 by early June, according to previous reports from Reuters.
The operations have expanded to at least 15 airports, with plainclothes agents apprehending individuals at check-in counters and boarding gates. Among those detained are people from over 12 countries, including spouses of U.S. citizens and tech workers.
The strategy is not random. Abel Núñez, director of the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), explained it clearly: "This is not bad luck. It is that when a person arrives, immigration authorities already know who is traveling and what type of immigration status they have."
The warning is no longer limited to those planning to board a plane. In August, activists and lawyers warned that relatives and acquaintances who enter the airport to accompany, pick up, or drop off a traveler may be exposed to immigration operations.
The Cuban community has not emerged unscathed from this offensive. Two Cuban musicians who were awaiting their permanent residency were arrested at airports in south Florida and California: the percussionist Degnis Nelson Bofill Miranda, a Latin Grammy winner, detained on August 19 in Miami upon returning from a performance in New York, and the pianist Andy García Palacios, arrested on August 15 in Los Angeles as he was getting ready to return to Miami. In both cases, according to their legal representatives, ICE agents were waiting for them, having their names and knowing their travel itinerary.
Both musicians were able to be released following legal intervention: Bofill Miranda was released on September 3 and García Palacios was freed on bail on September 11.
The report from Reuters highlights, however, a central paradox: although ICE arrests have reached historical highs for three consecutive months—nearly 51,000 in August—the number of effective deportations has not increased proportionally and remains around 1,200 per day, the same pace as in May, when there were approximately 19,000 fewer arrests.
Five current and retired officials consulted by the agency attribute this disconnect to the profile of the detainees: an increasing proportion have no criminal convictions, no criminal charges, and no final deportation orders, and many have pending asylum applications or other active legal claims that prevent their immediate removal.
This is compounded by logistical limitations: a scarcity of available flights and restrictions imposed by receiving countries, factors that also hinder the mass deportation ambitions of the Trump administration.
The immigration lawyer Charles Kuck summarized the magnitude of the phenomenon to the New York Times: “In 38 years of practicing immigration law, I have never seen anything like this and I know it's happening to many people.”
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