US Begins Arresting Visa Overstayers At Airports, NYT Reports

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. immigration authorities have begun arresting visa overstayers at airports across the country, expanding the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts, according to a report published July 29 by ‘The New York Times.’

The report said officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have detained travelers at check-in counters, boarding gates and arrival terminals at at least 15 airports in recent weeks.

According to ‘The New York Times,’ those arrested include visa overstayers who are spouses of U.S. citizens, skilled foreign workers awaiting visa extensions, former exchange visitors and other migrants with pending immigration applications.

The newspaper reported that the arrests mark a significant expansion of an existing collaboration between the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and ICE. Previously, the program primarily focused on people with outstanding deportation orders. Internal U.S. Department of Homeland Security documents reviewed by ‘The New York Times’ indicate it now also covers visa overstayers, even if they have pending applications to remain in the United States.

Many visa overstayers remain in the United States while awaiting decisions on visa extensions, green card applications or other immigration benefits. Some continue to hold valid work authorization during that process. In the past, such individuals generally were not prioritized for deportation unless they had committed criminal offenses, the report said.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the policy, saying, “This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport.”

According to ‘The New York Times,’ the White House has increased pressure on ICE to raise immigration arrests nationwide.