ICE says the Transportation Security Administration is sharing data that’s essential to immigration enforcement at airports across the country, and some immigrant attorneys in Houston are now advising clients to avoid travel.

What families and attorneys are seeing at Hobby

At Houston’s Hobby Airport, immigration attorney Dalya Alabbassi says she’s handled a case in which a father was detained at the gate while his spouse and child were left behind, even though the family had valid driver’s licenses and work permits and no criminal history. She says an ICE agent was waiting at the gate because the agency knew the family’s flight plans, called the father by name and took him into custody.

The issue landed locally just weeks ago when a Bellaire High School student was detained at Hobby. His attorney says plainclothes agents took him into custody. With support from legislators and the community, the student was released 72 hours later. Alabbassi’s client, meanwhile, remains in detention.

ICE’s statement: “Essential” to safety

In a statement to KHOU 11, a DHS spokesperson said: “Information sharing between ICE and TSA is essential in identifying who is attempting to travel in our country, including violent criminals, to keep our skies and our country safe.”

The statement added that the policy is “reversing a horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country” and that “Under President Trump, DHS will no longer tolerate this.”

What attorneys are telling travelers now

Alabbassi says she’s starting to advise her clients not to travel. She urges people to know their rights, not sign anything without legal advice, and contact an attorney immediately if detained.

“If you have pending asylum, if you get granted asylum, that’s the pathway to be a US citizen so you cannot give away your rights,” she said.

KHOU 11 has reached out to the airport system about ICE activity and is waiting to hear back.

Rep. Lizzie Fletcher's office issued this statement:

"In Houston, we have seen that the Trump administration is not telling the truth about what it is doing and who it is detaining—the majority of whom have no criminal convictions and are as young as two months old. We have also seen that the Trump administration's tactics and actions are not, in fact, making us safer. Detaining students, families, and law-abiding community members at the airport—or in courthouses, schools, hospitals, churches, and similar places—creates fear and trauma for individuals and entire communities that makes us all less safe and does not reflect our values as Americans."

View this article in KHOU 11.