U.S. Expands Immigration Enforcement at Airports

The United States has begun arresting foreign nationals with expired visas at airports, marking an expansion of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. Officers from the U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have detained travelers at various airports, targeting individuals such as spouses of U.S. citizens and skilled foreign workers with pending visa extensions. This enforcement strategy has reportedly expanded from focusing on individuals with outstanding deportation orders to include those with expired visas, regardless of pending applications.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the policy, emphasizing a commitment to enforcing immigration laws. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has set a target of approximately 2,000 immigration arrests daily.

Immigration lawyers have reported that this new strategy affects clients from multiple countries, including cases like that of Chantal Morales Rojas, who was detained despite having a pending immigration application. Attorney Charles Kuck described the situation as unprecedented in his 38 years of immigration law practice.