ICE Arrests Surge at Airports

0:00It's April 7th. Welcome to U.S. News Today, powered by AI and covering the nation. Internal ice data shows they arrested more than 800 people based on tips from federal airport security since Donald Trump's presidency began through February 2026. That's way higher than what was public before. The tips came from the Transportation Security Administration sharing records on over 31,000 travelers for immigration checks. This ramped up last year as part of Trump's big deportation push. TSA Secure Flight Program started back in 2007 for spotting terrorism watchless matches now feeds routine immigration leads to ice. Both agencies fall under Homeland Security and they've shifted from just national security to everyday enforcement. Airports turn into a political battleground with a funding fight since mid-February. This blocked extra cash for deportations without reforms, leaving TSA officers without at least two paychecks. Some called in sick, so Trump sent ice agents to over a dozen airports in March to help

1:04with security, drawing fire from Dems who say it spreads fear, and confusion. More than 40 House Democrats urged Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen to pull ice out last week. High profile arrests fueled the backlash. Like a college student, NABB heading home for Thanksgiving, and a mother detained at San Francisco Airport. Immigration lawyers shared stories too, including an Irish couple deported after two decades here, leaving their seven and ten-year-old kids behind. DHS stands by the arrests, saying they targeted folks with final removal orders. As this deportation machine keeps humming at airports, the partisan class shows no signs of cooling, blending security lines with immigration raids in. Please we haven't seen before.