Trump Administration Pushes Airport Security Privatization and Expands Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Arrests at Airports

Three airports—Tampa International, Charleston International and Des Moines International—have joined the TSA’s Gold+ program, allowing private contractors to staff checkpoints and provide screening technology while the TSA keeps policy control. The pilot will be fully implemented at Tampa by May 2027.

AFARWhat you should know about TSA Gold+ at TPA PBS News Hour

Gold+ builds on the existing Screening Partnership Program (SPP), which contracts private firms at 20 airports. The FY 2027 TSA budget request seeks $477 million to extend the SPP to all Category III and IV airports, potentially covering about 220 of the nation’s 440 commercial airports, cutting more than 4,000 TSA agent positions and saving an estimated $52 million.

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Since the agreement’s start, arrests of foreign nationals with expired visas have been reported at at least 15 airports, with a documented minimum of 27 detentions. A DHS spokesperson noted the administration’s deportation target of roughly 2,000 arrests per day as a driver of the airport-focused strategy.

New York Times

The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 created the TSA and authorized TSA-approved private screeners. The Trump administration has promoted broader privatization, arguing that private investment can accelerate technology upgrades and reduce reliance on federal procurement cycles.

PBS News Hour

• 20 airports currently operate under the original SPP.

AFAR

• Gold+ adds three airports, bringing participating sites to 23.

AFAR

• The budget request would expand private screening to about 220 airports, roughly half of all commercial facilities.

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• Customs and Border Patrol reported that 1 % of non-immigrant visitors overstayed their visas in FY 2024, amounting to 482,954 individuals.

Forbes

• ICE arrests at airports have involved at least 27 people across nine states, according to ABC News.

CNN

• DHS spokesperson: “DHS reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country.”

Forbes

Labor groups warn Gold+ could create a “two-tier security system” with inferior technology at smaller airports. A consultancy representing TSA employees highlighted that “TSA officers worked without pay twice this fiscal year” and said the program was developed without congressional notice. Immigration lawyers have urged non-citizens to avoid air travel due to detention risk.

AFAR

• Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old Australian, was detained at LAX after an attempted arrest in Las Vegas.

CNN

• Lorenzo Thompson, a Jamaican national on a six-month visa, was arrested at Nashville International on July 14.

CNN

• Iryna Gorb, a Ukrainian whose visa expired in 2011, was detained at SFO on July 22.

CNN

• ABC News documents “at least 27 arrests” but does not specify the time span; The New York Times reports arrests at “at least 15 airports” in recent weeks.

KQED

• DHS declined to confirm whether airport arrests have risen, while CNN cited internal pressure to achieve 2,000 daily arrests.

CNN

• The scope of data shared under the May 2025 memorandum remains unclear; appendices were redacted.

Federal immigration authorities targeting airports for arrests

The TSA plans to finalize private-operator selection for Tampa by September 2026 and complete Gold+ rollout at the pilot airports by May 2027. No public timetable has been announced for expanding the TSA-ICE data-sharing framework beyond the existing memorandum.

AFAR