Can ICE Access Airline Passenger Data Through Secure Flight?

(UNITED STATES) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is accessing airline passenger data in 2026 through the Transportation Security Administration’s Secure Flight program, the Airlines Reporting Corporation’s Travel Intelligence Program and growing use of commercial data sources, expanding the agency’s ability to identify travelers at airports across the country.

That system now lets ICE compare passenger information against deportation databases multiple times each week and make arrests at airports before travelers board, with enforcement activity confirmed at 14 U.S. airports including San Francisco International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

TSA Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill described the arrangement during a March 2026 House Homeland Security Committee hearing, saying: “We don’t send the information to ICE; we help ICE check against information.” The data checks support ICE deportation efforts inside the Department of Homeland Security.

A shift that began in March 2025 has moved ICE beyond its long-running use of booking records sold through ARC and into real-time screening tied to air travel. Airlines submit passenger data for Secure Flight when a reservation is made, and TSA vets the information against federal lists before boarding passes are issued.

ARC still plays a central part. Owned by nine major U.S. airlines, the company processes more than 12 billion global flight records annually from travel agencies and online booking platforms, collecting passenger name records, itineraries, payment details and contact information.

Under ICE’s Travel Intelligence Program, ARC sells access to that dataset, giving immigration authorities a way to assemble travel histories, spot visa overstays and profile people for possible immigration violations. The newer TSA sharing adds another stream of screening data, centered on names, dates of birth and gender from passenger manifests.

That combination has produced immediate airport enforcement. A mother and her 9-year-old child were arrested at San Francisco International Airport on March 24, 2026, after TSA flagged their data days earlier.

ICE agents now wait at gates for people whose information triggers a match, and a former ICE official said 75% of regional flags lead to arrests. The result is a system in which a domestic booking can become an immigration enforcement encounter before a traveler reaches the aircraft.

How Airline Data Reaches ICE

Airline passenger data reaches the government through more than one route. For agency-booked tickets, airlines often feed information into ARC, while direct airline submissions to Secure Flight cover domestic and international flights more broadly.

The information available to ICE includes basic identifiers such as name, date of birth, gender and itinerary. Through ARC records, it can also include payment methods, billing addresses and seat choices, along with patterns such as multi-leg trips, travel frequency and companions.

ICE then cross-references those details with its own deportation database. A domestic traveler using a Texas driver’s license can be flagged through Secure Flight and met by ICE at the gate without ever presenting a passport.

A Wider Surveillance Picture

The wider surveillance picture has also grown. ICE has expanded what civil liberties groups describe as a “massive data estate” by acquiring records from state motor vehicle agencies, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Internal Revenue Service, social media and cell phone location data.

Those sources are not limited to aviation, but they strengthen the agency’s ability to verify what it learns from air travel. Flight records can be layered with address histories, online activity and location information to build broader profiles of travelers.

The Trump administration formalized TSA-ICE data sharing in an announcement on December 12, 2025, though the practice had begun in March 2025. By March 2026, the arrangement had become part of a wider push for mass deportation and tighter screening tied to travel.

DHS has also linked identity verification more closely to airport access. TSA fully enforced REAL ID in May 2025 under DHS Secretary Noem, and 94% of travelers now comply, while the agency’s ConfirmID program is rolling out in 2026 and uses biometrics for identity checks.

That means more travelers must satisfy both document rules and data screening before they can fly. For immigrants with unresolved status issues, visa problems or final removal orders, the exposure starts when the ticket is booked.

ICE Air and the Removal Network

ICE’s broader air operation has grown sharply at the same time. In February 2026 alone, ICE Air logged 1,630 flights, a 155% increase from 2025.

Those flights included 183 removals to 31 countries and a record 1,170 domestic “shuffle” flights between detention centers using carriers including Bighorn Airways. Domestic transfers averaged 42 per day, up 227% from 2025.

Removal flights in February 2026 sent 45% of deportees to Guatemala and Honduras, while forced third-country transfers went to Cameroon, Ecuador and Honduras. The pace of flights illustrates how passenger screening at civilian airports connects to a much larger detention and removal network.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin framed the policy in blunt terms, saying: “The message to those in the country illegally is clear: The only reason you should be flying is to self-deport home.”

Who Is Most at Risk

The effects are already reaching beyond people with final removal orders. Undocumented immigrants and people who overstayed visas face the highest risk, but travelers with temporary protection or pending status issues can also be exposed if government records show violations.

The National Immigration Law Center has warned of a “significant risk of arrest” around airports, including for people who are not flying but are picking up or dropping off family members. In Atlanta and other cities with visible ICE activity, some immigrant families have stopped going to the airport altogether.

One cited case involved a Boston college student arrested in November 2025 while traveling to Texas and deported to Honduras two days later. Airports such as Atlanta have increasingly been treated by immigrants as places to avoid, not simply transit hubs.

For lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens, the direct immigration risk is lower, but their travel information still enters a system that collects and retains booking data. Businesses with international staff and universities with foreign students have had to address worries about privacy and travel exposure.

Privacy and Oversight Concerns

Privacy advocates say one of the central concerns is that travelers do not receive a clear warning when they buy tickets. Booking terms may contain broad consent language, but the transfer of airline passenger data into immigration enforcement systems is not spelled out in a way most consumers would notice.

Civil liberties groups have also raised concerns about profiling based on travel patterns and ancillary data. When booking records are paired with social media activity, DMV files and cell phone location data, they argue, the line between transportation screening and population surveillance becomes harder to define.

ARC has defended its role as legal, while TSA has cast its work as internal DHS coordination. Airlines have not spoken publicly in detail about how their systems intersect with ICE screening beyond the data required for Secure Flight and other federal programs.

Congress is also facing pressure over oversight. Lawmakers have pushed for audits as Jan. 30, 2026, funding deadlines approached, while DHS has allocated $28 billion for surveillance tools and $2 million for data partnerships tied to its enforcement effort.

What Travelers Face

For travelers, the practical consequences differ by status but begin with the same transaction: buying a ticket. Direct airline booking may reduce exposure to ARC’s clearinghouse, but it does not bypass Secure Flight, because all air passengers are screened through TSA’s system.

Travelers who do fly must carry compliant identification, with REAL ID now mandatory unless another accepted document is used. Temporary status holders, including students and workers, face added pressure to make sure their records match their current documents before they travel.

Advocacy groups have urged immigrants to prepare for encounters before reaching the airport. ACLU and NILC guidance includes memorizing the phrase “I want to speak to a lawyer” and limiting answers beyond providing name and identification.

Ground transportation remains an option for some people who want to avoid airport screening, though it is slower and does not eliminate all enforcement risk. Even so, the airport has become a flashpoint because TSA checks, booking records and ICE databases now intersect there in a routine way.

The broader outcome is a travel system in which security screening and immigration enforcement are now deeply intertwined. Secure Flight was created for terrorism watchlist checks, but in 2026 it also serves as a regular channel for identifying people ICE wants to detain.

As ICE Air expands and federal agencies collect more passenger information, travelers are confronting a new reality at the airport. For some, a boarding pass still means an ordinary trip. For others, it can mean that a reservation, a name match and a gate assignment lead instead to detention before the flight ever departs.