U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has intensified arrests targeting visa overstays at airports in the Washington, D.C. area, officials and immigration advocates report, as part of a broader nationwide effort under the current administration to increase deportations. Airports affected include Reagan National, Washington Dulles International, and Baltimore-Washington International Marshall (BWI).
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said the agency aims to prevent individuals unlawfully present in the United States from boarding domestic flights unless they are leaving the country to self-deport. The enforcement actions follow partnerships with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to share passenger data on individuals suspected of having deportation orders. A formal information-sharing agreement between ICE and TSA was signed in May, marking an expansion of cooperation designed to identify travelers who may be subject to removal.
The recent spike in detentions at D.C.-area airports is believed to reflect a shift in ICE’s approach. According to Atenas Burrola Estrada, deputy program director at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, those apprehended include a growing number of individuals who entered the U.S. legally but overstayed their visas, often seeking asylum due to fears of persecution. “Many of them have pending asylum claims and work permits,” Estrada said, noting the arrests represent a change from earlier enforcement patterns. She cautioned that individuals without permanent legal status should reconsider air travel due to increasing risks of arrest.
Several cases highlight the increased agency activity. One detainee, identified only as Paul, was apprehended by ICE agents in plain clothes at Washington Dulles International Airport after returning from a family trip to Hawaii. While being processed at an ICE field office in Virginia, Paul suffered a heart attack but was subsequently released under supervision. His attorney, Jay S. Marks, stated that Paul holds an order withholding removal to his home country, India, under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, although ICE may seek to deport him to a third country. Marks described the new wave of arrests as an “entirely new level of aggressiveness,” emphasizing that many individuals perceive domestic flights as risk-free but are now subject to immigration enforcement on arrival.
In another instance, ICE detained a Colombian woman at BWI airport on July 17 as she prepared to board a Southwest Airlines flight to Florida. The woman, who came to the U.S. on a visitor visa four years ago and has a pending asylum application, was arrested in the airport terminal in the presence of her American fiancé. Her attorney, Johanna Kelley, reported the woman was held for hours at multiple ICE facilities before being granted bond by an immigration judge in Virginia and released pending removal proceedings. Kelley noted that other immigration attorneys nationwide have similarly observed a rise in arrests at airports during the same period.
The DHS emphasized that information sharing between ICE and TSA remains critical for identifying individuals attempting to travel domestically against immigration laws, describing the collaboration as vital for national security and public safety. Meanwhile, immigrant rights advocates warn that the stepped-up enforcement poses new challenges for those with unresolved immigration statuses and call for greater awareness among potentially affected travelers.