A reported increase in immigration enforcement at US airports has placed the airline industry at odds with the Trump administration. Airline workers are reportedly declining to help federal officials arrest individuals, many of whom have pending applications for visas, asylum, or green cards.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), both part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have expanded their collaboration. This has led to as many as three dozen daily arrests at US airports last month, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The New York Times reported that those taken into federal immigration custody include a former au pair, an asylum seeker with sickle cell anemia, and women married to US citizens who are applying for lawful permanent residency. Ghassan Shamieh, an immigration lawyer, stated that his detained clients had "legitimate pending applications."
The DHS spokesperson told the New York Times that the administration is working to ensure "aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport." This represents a policy shift, as the DHS has generally avoided airport enforcement to prevent disrupting domestic travel.
In one instance in Dallas, a federal agent reportedly attempted to board a plane without a judge-signed warrant, but a Southwest Airlines gate agent refused permission. Airline employees also reportedly blocked ICE from viewing a computer screen during passenger boarding. Southwest told the Wall Street Journal that it follows the law and has protocols for legal documentation from law enforcement.
Hundreds of immigration arrests have occurred at airports since TSA and ICE began cooperating last year. The airline industry met with DHS in July to discuss their discomfort with the policy. Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, wrote in a March letter to carriers that federal enforcement actions have raised "workplace, safety and legal concerns for flight attendants."