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He has also stated that many foreigners who come into the country on a visa overstay and fail to leave when the visa expires.
“Not that an airport is a sacred place, but for sure, enforcement at airports is nothing we’ve ever seen, neither is cooperation between TSA and ICE,” Jeff Joseph, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told the outlet.
“That’s the mousetrap. That’s the cheese,” he added, a reference to aliens who are in the immigration process and being detained at airports.
Senior Department of Homeland Security officials adjusted immigration enforcement operations following two fatal shootings involving ICE officers this month.
Both incidents, one in Houston and the other in Maine, began after ICE officers initiated traffic stops. And in both, ICE agents say the suspects attempted to strike them with their vehicles.
Although airport arrests are not a new enforcement tactic under the Trump administration, immigration attorneys and advocates say they have become increasingly common in recent weeks, CNN said.
President Obama deported so many illegal migrants he was nicknamed “Deporter-in-Chief.”
Through the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security receives passenger information before flights, allowing authorities to identify individuals of interest in advance.
Airports also provide a controlled environment where security screening means travelers are generally not carrying weapons, former officials say.
“You can now take custody of that person in a secure environment. They come to you,” he added.
“You know exactly when and where they’re going to be. And because you’re getting them in a