For many immigrants, flying within the United States has always felt like a routine part of life. You fly to visit family, take a vacation, attend a wedding, go to a work conference, or simply get from one part of the country to another. If you have a valid passport or other accepted identification and a valid work permit, it is understandable that you might assume there is nothing unusual about going through airport security for a domestic flight.
That assumption has become more complicated.
What Has Changed with Domestic Travel?
In 2026, reporting revealed an increased level of information sharing between the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Internal ICE data reviewed by Reuters showed that TSA provided ICE information on more than 31,000 travelers for potential immigration enforcement from the beginning of the Trump administration through February 2026. ICE subsequently reported more than 800 arrests following TSA-provided leads during that period. Reuters could not determine how many of those arrests actually occurred inside airports, so the number should not be described as 800 airport arrests.
Since then, immigration attorneys and advocates have reported a growing number of arrests at airports involving people who may not fit the image many immigrants have of someone ICE would target. Reports have included people who entered the United States lawfully, people with pending immigration applications, people with pending asylum cases, and people who have valid employment authorization documents.
While a domestic flight between two U.S. cities does not mean that you are leaving the United States or crossing a border, it does not mean that immigration enforcement cannot happen at an airport. In these instances, the issue is that you are traveling through a location where TSA and other federal agencies have access to identifying information and where ICE may now use passenger information for immigration enforcement purposes.
What If I Have a Real ID?
While having a legally valid travel document, such as a Real ID driver’s license, a valid Employment Authorization Document (work permit), or a passport, allows you to legally travel by air, it does not minimize the risk of being stopped or detained by ICE if they are legally allowed to based on your immigration status.
A valid work permit generally means that USCIS has authorized you to work in the United States. A valid driver’s license simply means that you are legally allowed to drive. Neither necessarily means that you have lawful permanent resident status or that you cannot be placed in immigration proceedings. And that is an important distinction.
Someone can have a valid work permit or driver’s license while their underlying immigration case is still pending. For example, an individual may have a pending asylum application and a work permit, or may have another type of pending immigration case that allows them to obtain employment authorization. That person may be legally authorized to work while still not having permanent immigration status.
Recent reporting has documented airport arrests involving people in precisely these kinds of circumstances. CBS News reported that immigration lawyers have seen people with pending applications and work permits caught up in the increased airport enforcement, while The Washington Post reported that attorneys have encountered travelers with pending asylum applications and valid work permits among those detained.
This does not mean that having a work permit makes you automatically subject to arrest at the airport. It means that a work permit should not be confused with permanent immigration status or immunity from immigration enforcement.
How Does TSA Fit Into This?
In the past, many immigrants thought of an ICE arrest as something that happened at someone’s home, workplace, immigration check-in, or another location connected to a specific investigation. However, the agreements on how ICE and TSA work together have changed this landscape.
TSA and ICE are both part of the Department of Homeland Security, but they have different jobs. TSA’s primary responsibility is transportation security, while ICE is responsible for immigration enforcement and other federal enforcement functions.
The agencies have nevertheless entered into an information-sharing agreement. Documents released in 2026 show that TSA and ICE have formalized the exchange of certain passenger information for purposes that include immigration enforcement.
When government agencies have information about a person’s identity and travel plans, an airport can provide ICE with a predictable opportunity to locate that person. Recent reporting has described arrests occurring at airport gates, check-in areas, and after passengers arrive at their destinations.
According to TSA officials, the agency does not itself make immigration enforcement decisions. TSA identifies potential matches and provides certain information to ICE, while ICE makes the enforcement determination. Therefore, the concern for immigrants is not necessarily that a TSA officer is deciding who should be arrested, but rather that information provided during the airline and security screening process may give ICE information about when and where a particular person is traveling.
Some of the people reportedly detained had entered the United States legally but later overstayed a visa or otherwise lacked current permanent immigration status. Others had pending immigration cases or employment authorization.
This is why the question “Can I legally fly domestically?” has become more complicated for some immigrants.
What If I Have a Pending Immigration Case?
A pending immigration application does not necessarily give someone the same protection as an approved immigration status. The consequences of a pending application depend heavily on the type of case, the person’s previous immigration history, whether there is an existing removal order, whether the person has lawful status, and many other factors.
For that reason, two people who both have pending applications may face very different levels of immigration risk.
One person may have a pending application and no prior immigration violations or removal order. Another may have a pending application but also have an old removal order or another issue in their immigration history.
The fact that both people can log into a USCIS account and see “Case Is Being Actively Reviewed” does not mean their situations are legally identical.
Before You Fly, Know Your Immigration History
While these changes are concerning, they are not inherently an argument that every immigrant should stop flying. Instead, it is a reminder that you should understand your own immigration situation before making travel plans.
If you have a pending immigration application, an expired status, a prior removal order, a previous immigration court case, a missed court date, a complicated entry history, or another unresolved immigration issue, talk to an immigration attorney before traveling if possible.
Bring your important immigration documents with you, including your valid identification and, where applicable, your valid employment authorization document and other relevant documentation.
Most importantly, know what is actually happening with your case. Do not assume that because you have a work permit, a pending application, or a USCIS receipt notice, you necessarily have lawful permanent status. Those documents are all extremely important—but they do different things.
What Should You Do If ICE Approaches You?
If ICE officers approach you at an airport, stay calm.
You generally have the right to remain silent and the right to speak with an attorney. You should not lie to an immigration officer or provide false documents. If you are not sure what you are being asked, you can ask what is happening and whether you are being detained.
If you have an immigration attorney, you should know how to contact them and, ideally, have their information readily available.
If you have an existing immigration order or a complicated immigration history, it is particularly important to understand your situation before you travel rather than trying to figure it out while standing at an airport gate.
Conclusion
At Hope Immigration, we know that immigration status can be complicated, especially when someone has multiple applications, a pending case, employment authorization, or a history with immigration court. A document that looks reassuring on its own may not tell the whole story.
Before you travel, make sure you know what your documents actually mean, whether there are any unresolved issues in your immigration history, and whether domestic travel could create concerns in your particular case.