Daily arrests at airports have ranged between 20 and 40, a notable increase compared to the average 10 daily arrests that occurred in May 2025, according to data released by the television station.
Arrests at airports increase
The Trump Administration has intensified its anti-immigrant operations at the country's airports, where plainclothes agents are arresting people with expired visas at both check-in counters and boarding gates.
The operations have been concentrated in recent weeks in at least 15 airports, where people from more than twelve countries have been arrested, including spouses of US citizens and workers in the technology sector, as a result of a cooperation agreement between the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a recent report by The New York Times.
CHIRLA issues alert for travelers
Given the situation, the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants (CHIRLA) has issued a travel alert urging immigrants with pending applications for permanent residence (green card) or asylum to consult with lawyers before planning trips within the country.
“In recent weeks, CHIRLA has received reports from community members indicating an increase in immigration-related apprehensions at U.S. airports during domestic flights,” Yunuen Trujillo, director of legal services at CHIRLA, said in a statement.
The organization has confirmed arrests at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), in California.
Similar incidents have also been reported in Nevada, Colorado, Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia.
Among the latest arrests, the one of the Venezuelan Claudia Carolina Rodríguez Caglianone, former captain of a Miami university soccer team, stands out, who has a current asylum request, after the end of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, which protected her.
The young woman, 28, was detained at the Fort Lauderdale airport (Florida) when she passed through the airport security filter to travel to the World Cup final with her friends in North Carolina, according to her family.
