Travel Insecurity Fueled by ICE Fears and ATC Shortages

On Nov. 20, college student Any Lucía López Belloza was at Boston Logan Airport, waiting for her flight. Two days later, she was deported to Honduras. While ICE has historically avoided domestic travel interference, the landscape of intervention is transforming. Not only is ICE becoming more bold, but airports are seeing major reductions in their staffing. Thus, domestic travel insecurity is no longer just about immigration status; it is produced by the convergence of visible immigrant enforcement, curtailment of aviation staff capacity, and the collapse of the difference between civil mobility and criminal surveillance. The convergence of these factors erodes public trust and the safety of domestic travel overall.

The fear of ICE is embedded in immigrant families across the US. For many, the fear is not of travel, but of being observed, flagged, and deported. For students, 70.4 percent of principals report students expressing concerns about their well-being or not showing up at all. ICE activity is becoming more visible in public spaces across the US, removing the prior distinction between criminal enforcement and civil spaces. The impact has been a marked behavioral shift within immigrant communities, as people are choosing to avoid taking public transit, seeking medical assistance and skipping school altogether. This pervasive fear also has spillover, as families who are not at risk of detention also alter their behavior in response to ICE visibility in their communities. 

While ICE strikes psychological fear, domestic travel is also becoming physically insecure. Within the US, a chronic shortage of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers exists. Handling more than 44,000 flights daily, US air traffic controllers are vital to air safety. However, the 11,000 controllers employed by the FAA remain 3,000 below the level needed. Due to insufficient hiring practices, high controller attrition and declining morale, air traffic controllers aren’t being replenished. However, while the FAA seeks to reduce air traffic by 10%, alleviating some of the burden air traffic controllers face, the consequences to security will still be felt. The current standard of work demands that controllers spend less time screening due to having to manage more incoming planes, rushing the process and increasing error rates. Such fatigue may have been a cause in the January 2025 mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a case currently under investigation. While the statistics don’t reveal a significant decrease in the security of air travel, stories and events strike further fear in Americans. The capacity erosion of US air traffic control produces insecurity even when intentions remain consistent.

Nonetheless, the true potency of insecurity is the TSA-ICE information linkages currently appearing. An investigation by the New York Times recently found that the “Transportation Security Administration provides a list multiple times a week to Immigration and Customs Enforcement of travelers who will be coming through airports…” This new partnership between airport security and ICE is part of Trump’s widening network of federal agencies supporting Trump’s deportation ambitions. Because this network is growing expansive, nearly every federal agency is involved. While it's unclear how many arrests have been made through the TSA-ICE partnership, many immigrants are now foregoing air travel altogether. 

Thus, travelling in the US, especially by air, is becoming a scary prospect for millions. Both ICE and airport shortages increase the perceived risk of travel domestically, destabilizing domestic mobility. When people fear being watched, insecurity tends to multiply rather than diminish. For Americans, “The message to those in the country illegally is clear: The only reason you should be flying is to self-deport home,” said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. With that in mind, it is clear that 2025 has been characterized by unpredictable mobility, both legally, procedurally, and physically. The result is that movement itself is now a site of insecurity for all travelers, not just those who are being targeted. 

Read more here:

• Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times

• Joel Rose, NPR

• Dorothy Robyn, Brookings