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The United States has begun arresting foreign nationals with expired visas at airports across the country, marking an expansion of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign, according to a report by The New York Times.
Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have detained travellers at check-in counters, boarding gates and arrival terminals in at least 15 airports in recent weeks, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Those targeted include spouses of U.S. citizens, skilled foreign workers awaiting visa extensions, former exchange visitors and other migrants with pending immigration applications, the report said.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson defended the policy, saying the administration was committed to enforcing immigration laws.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
The department did not confirm whether the airport enforcement programme had formally been expanded.
The White House has increased pressure on ICE to raise immigration arrests nationwide, with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin reportedly setting a target of about 2,000 immigration arrests daily, according to the report.
Immigration lawyers told The New York Times that the new enforcement strategy has affected clients from more than a dozen countries, including people with pending asylum claims, work visa renewals and applications for permanent residency through marriage.
