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Airport Travelers Are Being Swept Up in a Quiet ICE Surge That Is Detaining People With Valid Work Papers and No Criminal Record
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The Mary Sue
Airport travelers with valid work papers and no criminal record are being swept up in a quiet surge of ICE arrests, with July marking the highest single-month total in the agency’s history.
The surge in arrests comes as deportations for the fiscal year have already reached 356,389, according to ICE data.
ICE says staff responded immediatelyThe agency maintains that Lopez-Cornejo received proper medical care and that staff responded immediately when he experienced the emergency.
For travelers, the increased presence of ICE at airports is a new and unsettling reality.
— Wicked Man ™ (@oluflamme) August 4, 2026The human cost of this enforcement surge is becoming harder to ignore.