Written July 30, 2026
Rosanna Berardi, Managing Partner of Berardi Immigration Law, was recently featured in USA TODAY, offering her legal perspective on why U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun arresting travelers directly at airport check-in counters and gates.
The article, Why ICE is arresting travelers at US airports, examines a growing wave of airport arrests that has played out at terminals across the country in recent months, including a widely circulated video of a Southwest Airlines passenger arrested on the jetway at Denver International Airport as she attempted to board her flight. A memo obtained by ABC News, and cited in the piece, confirms that DHS has adopted a new enforcement strategy: using a data-sharing agreement between TSA and ICE to identify and detain travelers with expired visas or other immigration violations, no warrant or home visit required.
Rosanna explained what makes this tactic different from traditional ICE enforcement:
“ICE is working with TSA and targeting people at check-in counters and gates, sidestepping the warrants and surveillance operations used in the past. There is no investigation or no home visit involved. It’s simply a name match at a checkpoint, and that’s what makes this approach so efficient for ICE and so unsettling for travelers.”
For decades, ICE arrests typically followed an investigation, a warrant, or a final order of removal. What’s changed, Rosanna notes, is the venue and the method: airports have quietly become an enforcement checkpoint, powered by a Secure Flight data-sharing agreement that lets TSA flag travelers for ICE in real time. The result is that routine domestic and international travel now doubles as an immigration status check, one that can catch even lawful visa holders and green card applicants off guard.
The stakes for travelers are significant. According to reporting cited in the article, ICE has carried out dozens of confirmed arrests at airports across at least nine states in recent months, with cases involving people who had valid work authorization, pending green card applications, or no criminal history at all. Immigration attorneys nationwide, including our own team, are now advising clients with pending immigration matters to think carefully before booking domestic flights and to always carry proof of status when they travel.
Read the full article here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2026/07/29/why-ice-arresting-travelers-us-airports/91096967007/
As airport enforcement tactics continue to evolve, Berardi Immigration Law remains committed to keeping clients informed, prepared, and protected. If you have questions about your immigration status or how to prepare for travel in this environment, our team is here to help you navigate every step of the process.
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