How TSA passenger screening became an immigration enforcement tool

The Trump administration has for more than a year used personal information airline passengers provide to the Transportation Security Administration for immigration enforcement, according to documents obtained by a government watchdog group.

The documents, collected by the government accountability organization American Oversight, show for the first time a formal data-sharing agreement between TSA and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that has been in place since May 2025.

The agreement contradicts congressional testimony from a TSA official who told lawmakers passenger data was not being collected for the purpose of immigration enforcement.

American Oversight obtained the records in a federal lawsuit to compel their release through a Freedom of Information Act request. The group posted the documents online Tuesday with a cover letter showing they were obtained July 23.

The New York Times first reported on the agreement between TSA and ICE.

As the Trump administration continues its aggressive deportation campaign in the country's interior, access to passenger information opens a larger group of people to immigration enforcement. It is unclear from the documents how many deportations or other immigration enforcement actions the agreement has generated.

Any noncitizen who has an expired visa, is awaiting a legal status renewal or is not authorized to be in the country could have their passenger information handed over to immigration officials under the agreement.

American Oversight Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said in a statement the agreement sets "a dangerous precedent with consequences far beyond immigration."

"Americans provide their personal information to board a plane safely, not to become part of an immigration enforcement system or a government surveillance network," Chukwu said. "Once the government begins expanding how it uses Americans' personal information, it raises profound concerns about privacy, civil liberties, and public trust."

TSA and ICE are both within the Department of Homeland Security. The agreement between the agencies will remain in effect until officials terminate it. It will be reviewed every five years to determine whether it should continue, according to the agreement.

Testimony to Congress

In January, acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee that the agency shares some information with ICE but does not "send the information to ICE."

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., asked McNeill about an agreement with ICE to share information for the purpose of checking whether passengers have a deportation order.

"That is not what is occurring," she said. "We don't send the information to ICE, we help ICE check against information."

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., also asked McNeill what passenger information TSA was sharing with ICE.

McNeill did not detail the information TSA shares with ICE but said her agency was "within our authorities to share information within the Department of Homeland Security to further the national security mission."

In the newly released documents, TSA cites the 2008 Secure Flight Final Rule as its authority to share data with ICE. The TSA regulation lays out federal procedures for using passenger information for aviation safety.

David Cummins, the president's pick to be TSA administrator, did not detail the information TSA and ICE share when pressed by Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters during his Senate confirmation hearing this month.

Cummins said he would "try to provide as much as we can within our bounds" but said he could not commit to sharing details.

TSA and DHS did not respond to States Newsroom's request for comment.