The Brief

Since Feb. 14, Transportation Security Administration staff have worked without pay due to the ongoing partial government shutdown — and with many calling out of work, passengers across the United States have experienced hourslong security screening lines.

This weekend, President Donald Trump announced that as of Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be deployed to airports to support TSA operations.

The Trump administration said that ICE officers would be on duty to assist with airport security staffing. But the presence of ICE officers has sparked fear and uncertainty among travelers.

San Francisco International Airport, the Bay Area’s biggest airport, has been spared long wait lines by the fact that its security screening is contracted by a private company rather than TSA.

But on Sunday night, in an incident captured on video, plainclothes immigration officers were seen at SFO forcefully handling a woman in front of her young child. SFO was not on the list of 14 airports obtained by CNN where ICE would be appearing.

While standing in line, open up the airline app and rebook yourself, says travel reporter Chris Dong.

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So what should you know about ICE in U.S. airports right now? Keep reading for what we know about immigration officers, air travel and your rights around ICE officers.

Bear in mind that the following information doesn’t constitute legal advice, and you should direct any specific questions about your individual situation to a lawyer.

Which U.S. airports have ICE been deployed to?

According to reporting by The New York Times, 14 airports around the country will host ICE agents.

CNN reported that these locations include Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports in New York and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

No California airports appear on CNN’s current list.

On Tuesday, a TSA spokesperson confirmed to KQED that ICE would be deployed to “airports being adversely impacted” by TSA callouts and resignations — and that none of these were in the Bay Area.

Why was ICE at SFO on Sunday?

In footage from around 10 p.m. Sunday that was posted to social media, men wearing dark clothing were filmed at SFO pulling a crying woman from an airport terminal bench and then pushing her into a wheelchair — as a girl of around 10 is heard crying nearby. San Francisco police officers were seen standing by as the arrest occurred.

The men are not wearing visible badges or agency markings, but the Department of Homeland Security said on the social media platform X Monday that they were, in fact, ICE officers.

According to a DHS spokesperson, the woman and her daughter were arrested at the airport and were being “escorted to the international terminal for processing” when the woman tried to flee. Read more about Sunday night’s incident at SFO. As reported by The New York Times on Tuesday evening, ICE had originally been alerted to the pair’s presence at SFO by TSA.

According to a statement released by SFO, the airport was “not involved in or notified in advance of this incident.”

“We understand federal officers were transporting two individuals on an outbound flight when this incident occurred,” the statement reads. “We believe this is an isolated incident and have no reason to suspect broader enforcement action at SFO.”

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie echoed the airport’s statement on Monday in a social media post. Lurie said in his statement that local law enforcement “does not participate in federal civil immigration enforcement,” although some immigration attorneys have nonetheless questioned SFPD’s presence during the arrest.

As of Monday afternoon, local immigration advocates said they were still assessing the situation and working to “confirm all the facts related to this incident.”

“After killing people in our streets and detaining U.S. citizens, ICE has lost all credibility and trust with the public,” Bay Area Rep. Kevin Mullin and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said in a joint statement. “We demand immediate answers as to the mother’s and her child’s condition and the grounds for their detainment.”

Can ICE arrest people at the airport?

Yes, there have been documented instances of ICE arresting people at airports.

Jonathan Blazer, director of border strategies and senior advisor at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that there is “nothing that categorically prohibits ICE from going into an airport as an immigration enforcement agent.”

For example, Blazer said, ICE agents have used commercial flights in the past to transport individuals on deportation flights — or to transfer arrested people to immigration detention centers.

Travelers and their luggage in a terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

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Additionally, as first reported by The New York Times in December 2025, TSA has shared information about air travelers who are believed to be under deportation orders with ICE, enabling immigration agents to make arrests at the airport.

But Blazer said that this week’s deployment of ICE to airports — the “mere presence for this purpose, in an untargeted fashion, in large numbers” — was “unprecedented.”

According to CNN on Tuesday morning, Trump said that agents will continue arresting undocumented people, but said of ICE agents in airports: “That’s not why they’re there; they’re really there to help.” (Most TSA officers are not commissioned law enforcement officers.)

“Part of what’s so challenging here is that the Trump administration hasn’t really made clear what authorities they are vesting with ICE as part of this mission,” Blazer said.

In its roundup of risks of air travel, the National Immigration Law Center said that for people who are undocumented, have temporary immigration status or who are under a deportation order, there is “a significant risk of arrest at a U.S. airport.”

However, NILC also said that “all non-citizens face some risk” while traveling through U.S. airports, including those with green cards, if they have certain criminal convictions or who have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status.

Advocates encourage passengers who aren’t U.S. citizens to talk to a lawyer about their specific situation before traveling.

Customs and Border Protection already regularly works in airports. What’s the difference between their powers and ICE’s?

ICE and CBP are both immigration enforcement agencies within DHS.

While ICE conducts enforcement within the U.S. and manages detention and deportation operations, CBP conducts inspections at all U.S. “ports of entry” — at land borders, seaports and airports.

ACLU’s Blazer said that while CBP has a lot of “power when they’re screening people coming in on an international flight,” that doesn’t apply to domestic flights. For example, CBP — and ICE — should not be able to check your electronic devices without a warrant for a domestic flight.

Nicole Hallett, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic and a clinical professor of law at the University of Chicago, told the Washington Post that ICE cannot search a passenger’s personal belongings without a warrant — and can only do this if they are working on behalf of an agency that can, like CBP.

“If they’re acting as a TSA agent, they have to follow TSA rules. If they’re acting as a CBP agent and doing Border Patrol work, then they have the authority that Border Patrol has,” Hallett said.

“And if they are just merely standing in the airport as ICE officers, then they have the same legal authority that any ICE officer standing in a public location has,” she said. (Regardless, she said that ICE can approach passengers anywhere in the airport, including after security.)

What should I do if ICE approaches me in the airport?

At border checkpoints — including airports — officers can ask questions, carry out personal searches and detain people with wide latitude, Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the UCLA School of Law’s Center for Immigration Law & Policy, told NPR.

But Blazer said that in order for ICE to arrest someone for an immigration violation without a warrant, they would need to establish probable cause that the person is in the U.S. in violation of U.S. immigration laws — and that the person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for the arrest. There has been recent litigation across the country challenging some of ICE’s warrantless arrests, he said.

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ICE officers “have no additional authority in an airport,” Blazer said. But in reality, he said, the constitutional protections and rights people have can be “a lot trickier to make the choice to exercise them” in an airport setting for most people — who are dealing not only with the added pressures of catching expensive flights but also the impatience of other passengers in the security line.

For example, people — whether citizens or immigrants — have the right to ask an immigration officer, “Am I free to go?” If they don’t have a specific, individualized, reasonable suspicion that you’ve committed a crime, they can’t question you further and you can go, Blazer said.

“But let’s think about how that works in the airport context,” he said. “‘Am I free to go?’ and leaving means that I’m probably leaving the airport to get myself out of a situation, and I may miss my flight at that point.”

Do I have to answer ICE’s questions at the airport?

If an ICE agent asks you questions in the airport, you “have the same right to remain silent as you do on the street,” Blazer said. “Nothing changes just because you’re in an airport.”

But this is another example of how the pressures of the airport setting can affect your situation, Blazer said. If you choose to exercise your right to remain silent, the officer may pull you out of the security line and try to ask more questions.

“We have the same rights, but in that environment, there are additional costs associated with exercising those rights,” Blazer said. “Many people in that situation, out of their own self-interest … ‘go along to get along’ as much as possible.”

What if ICE asks me for ID?

According to reporting from USA Today, travelers do need to provide identification and comply with TSA screening to board a flight. But generally, citizens and immigrants have the right to remain silent when talking to law enforcement, including ICE.

The Asian Law Caucus said that if you believe you are being taken into ICE custody, you should practice your right to remain silent and should not answer any questions. You should also not sign any documents without a lawyer reviewing them, the organization said.

Blazer said that federal law said people with lawful permanent residency or other visas that grant them lawful status must carry proof of their status with them — like their green card. “And it may be in their interest, in terms of avoiding further improper questioning or improper unlawful arrests, to answer those questions and to show that proof of status,” Blazer said.

“So even though you have a right not to, I want to make clear that people are going to need to make an individualized decision as to whether it’s in their interest to exercise that right,” he said. “Especially if they are an adult green cardholder or somebody else who is subject to a federal law requiring them to carry proof of their status at all times.”

Is it legal to film ICE?

“Taking photographs and video of things that are plainly visible in public spaces is a constitutional right — and that includes police and other government officials carrying out their duties,” the ACLU’s guidance reads.

And while there’s no Supreme Court ruling on an unambiguous First Amendment right to film law enforcement officers, “all of the seven U.S. Federal Circuit Courts that have considered the issue have pretty much said there is a First Amendment right to record the police and observe the police,” criminal justice reporter C.J. Ciaramella at Reason told KQED’s Close All Tabs podcast earlier this year.

Atlanta Police Department officers look on as travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia.

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But airports could be a potentially harder environment to film, Blazer said.

“It’s not as though the First Amendment doesn’t exist at airports, but airports are not traditional public domain in a way that parks [are],” Blazer said. For example, some TSA security lines have a sign nearby that says “no photos.”

“They rarely enforce that, but it just shows you that it’s already a more regulated environment in which they can impose certain restrictions,” Blazer said.

It is lawful to film law enforcement in “any open, visible place when they’re performing their duties,” Blazer said, echoing the guidance laid out in this thorough guide by the ACLU.

“But at the same time, it can be permissible for airport operators to impose certain reasonable rules, and those rules might include restricting photographing in particular areas of the airport,” Blazer said.

Practically, it could be hard to argue against an airport official who is telling you not to take photos in an area, Blazer said. And there may be a legal fight after the fact, “if a person doesn’t comply with that order and is arrested or is taken out of the line,” he said.

“But, I think, the practical reality is that” in an airport “environment, it gets harder to exercise that right,” he said.

Bystander videos also provide important counternarratives to official law enforcement accounts. After the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by ICE officers in Minnesota earlier this year, Trump administration officials immediately claimed Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” intending to “massacre” officers — claims contradicted by the multiple eyewitness videos taken of the killing.

Officials with the Trump administration have, however, characterized filming ICE as “violence” and “doxing,” and Americans have faced detention by ICE after filming agents.

So all in all, while recording ICE might be your constitutional right, it also brings increasing risks. Read more about the logistics — and risks — of recording law enforcement officers like ICE agents.

What do immigrant advocates say about traveling during this time? 

San Francisco advocacy group Mission Action warns that noncitizens who do not currently have legal status “should carefully consider the risks of air travel, including domestic flights within the U.S.”

“Recent reporting suggests increased risks, including that TSA may be sharing traveler information with ICE, which could expose individuals to enforcement,” their social media post reads.

The Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership said people should “talk to an attorney before flying to understand your risk.” The guidance suggested people plan extra time before traveling and keep key documents — like proof of lawful status, pending applications or certified copies of criminal cases if the case was closed — on hand. The organization emphasized that people should not “sign anything” they’re given by immigration agents that they “don’t understand.”

The ACLU Northern California has a page that breaks down your rights at the airport and whether or not border officers can ask about your immigration status.

According to ACLU NorCal, U.S. citizens only have to “answer questions establishing your identity and citizenship (in addition to customs-related questions).”

However, the organization cautions that “refusing to answer routine questions about the nature and purpose of your travel could result in delay and/or further inspection.”

Noncitizen visa holders and visitors who refuse to answer questions could face a delay or be denied entry. Lawful permanent residents, like green card holders, only have to answer questions about their identity and permanent residency, according to ACLU NorCal.

“Refusal to answer other questions will likely cause delay, but officials may not deny you entry into the U.S. for failure to answer other questions,” ACLU NorCal advised legal permanent residents — noting that green card status “may be revoked only by an immigration judge,” and warning, “Do not give up your green card voluntarily!”

The Asian Law Caucus also has a helpful chart on what people of differing statuses can expect in airports when it comes to their baggage, device searches and length of potential detainment.

What should I do if I think I see ICE in an airport?

Instead of posting possible ICE sightings to social media, immigration advocates highly encourage people to call them first instead. With these hotlines, advocates can fact-check these sightings, with the goal of preventing the spread of misinformation online.

You can find the complete and updated list of rapid response numbers on the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice’s website.

You can also follow these organizations on their social media accounts to see if these are confirmed sightings or just rumors.

Immigration agents detained someone I know. How do I find them?

Typically, a person of any status can be detained up to 72 hours at a port of entry, according to the Asian Law Caucus. They can also be transferred to criminal or ICE custody.

KQED has a guide that walks you through how to potentially locate someone through different detention centers.

The primary way to find someone is through ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System. You can also call ICE at 866-347-2423.

According to the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, it may take a few days for a person to appear in the ICE database. If the name you’re searching for isn’t showing up in the ICE system — or if you’re concerned about their safety and possible deportation — you can seek out assistance from advocacy organizations such as Freedom for Immigrants.

This story contains reporting from KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti, Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, Tyche Hendricks and Carly Severn.

Southern California was built on radio.

"I can still hear the jingle KFWB News 98,” wrote  Taline in Los Feliz, during a recent conversation on LAist's daily news show, AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 FM. “I grew up hearing that in my dad's minivan on the way to and from school. It has a special place in my heart.”

Back in April, broadcast company Audacy announced KNX News — one of the last-remaining all-news FM stations — was leaving the FM dial where it had simulcast on 97.1 FM since 2021. The station, which is also one of the oldest in L.A., is not budging from 1070 AM where it has been on the air for more than 100 years. The move away from FM officially happened in May to make way for a new sports talk station, which Audacy officials called an area of growth for advertisers in today’s media landscape.

The move is one in a long line of changes for radio and a reminder that before podcasts, playlists and algorithms, many Southern Californians built their days around radio broadcasts.

Radio, a daily ritual

The construction of KNX

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Larry Mantle, now in his 41st year hosting AirTalk, remembers being a kid and dreaming of what it might be like to be behind the mic at one of these radio stations.

“ I grew up with KNX," he said. “My dream job as a kid was to be an anchor on KNX or KFWB, the two local all-news radio stations, 'cause there was nothing like hosting AirTalk that even existed at that point.”

Mantle opened up the phone lines on a recent show to hear from his fellow SoCal radio lovers about the shows they miss and the memories they have. Here's what they had to say:

A love for radio, then and now  

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“When you'd walk down Hollywood Boulevard where the station was, you could hear it playing as you went down the street,” said  Olivia in Glendale about KLAC 570 with Al Jarvis.

 Larry in Yorba Linda shouted out KBCA Jazz for its 24-hour jazz, saying “When I first moved out here in '68 from Phoenix, which had like an hour a week, it was a real wonder.”

 Mark in Glassell Park emailed that he loves KCRW’s Henry Rollins, writing, “I used to bristle at his unique DJ persona, but over time, I came to love him and his crazy eclectic playlists. I find his knowledge in history and punk rock fascinating. He's a gem and a legend."

"I'd like to give a shout-out to all the DJs working at KXLU, the college station at Loyola Marymount University, said  Jeremy in Culver City in an email. “That station's been on the air for nearly 60 years. I believe it's one of the best examples of what's possible with radio."

"KFWB and KRLA back in the day when they were rock music stations —  Dr. Demento, one of my favorite on-air personalities, also had eclectic music taste," said  Carrie in Desert Edge.

“ Dr. Demento was must listening when I was a kid in junior high school at Le Conte Junior High in Hollywood,” Mantle added. “Every Sunday night on KMET, we would make sure we were listening to Dr. Demento and his funny records.”

The question remains…

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Listener support is vital to any radio station, and it’s clear KNX has many lifelong fans. AirTalk listeners highlighted their support for household KNX names over the decades like Bill Keene, Melinda Lee, Mike Roy and Jackie Olden.

As KNX makes changes, many are watching closely and thinking about the future of radio.

Listeners like Tommy in La Quinta are left wondering if the radio dial will be the same…

“I’m a hardcore listener, but I don't know about casual listeners [and] if they'll tune to AM,” he said.

After months of hand-wringing, Los Angeles and LA28 have come to a tentative agreement on how Olympics organizers will reimburse the city for its expenses for the 2028 Summer Games.

According to the deal, the private Olympic organizing committee will pay upfront for the estimated cost of services that are not eligible for federal reimbursement, like trash pick-up and traffic control. Under another proposal, the city would also be able to tap an LA28 contingency fund if it isn't fully repaid by the federal government for policing costs at Olympic venues.

The agreement is nearly nine months overdue and still needs approval by Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council.

The 2028 Olympics are intended to be privately financed, and an existing city agreement with LA28 states that the Olympics organizers, not L.A., will pay for extra costs for public services in support of the Games. But L.A. is the financial back-stop for the Olympics, meaning if LA28 goes in the red, taxpayers will pick up the bill.

Beyond that, the city services agreement presents another area where L.A. could incur additional unexpected expenses for hosting the Games. L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez warned LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover earlier this year that a bad deal could "bankrupt" the city.

Jacie Prieto Lopez, an LA28 spokesperson, and Paul Krekorian, who leads the city's office of major events, said in statements that the freshly inked agreement would help deliver a fiscally responsible Games.

"Mayor Bass’ priority is that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games be fiscally responsible, protect taxpayers, and benefit Angelenos for decades to come. This agreement helps deliver that commitment," Krekorian said.

But the contract between the two parties doesn't fully resolve one of the biggest areas of financial risk for the city: the enormous cost of security for an event as extensive and high-profile as the summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Organizers are counting on the federal government to pay for public safety at Olympic venues that are considered part of a "national special security event." That includes costs for LAPD staffing. LA28 has not included security costs in its $7.1 billion budget — a fact that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto criticized earlier this year.

The federal government has so far allocated $1 billion for security costs for the Olympics. Exactly where those federal funds will go has not yet been determined, and there's no guarantee they will cover all of L.A.'s policing costs.

To address this, city officials have also proposed an amendment to a 2021 agreement between the city and LA28. That amendment would establish that if L.A. is not reimbursed by the federal government for all its eligible expenses, it could dip into LA28's contingency fund of $270 million before the private organizing committee could use those funds for any legacy projects.

But that bucket of money will first be used for any costs that Olympics organizers still owe if they run out of revenue — meaning if the Olympics don't turn a profit, the city's access to that money will depend on how much is left for the taking.

Civil rights attorney Connie Rice, who has been tracking the city's negotiations with LA28, told LAist the agreement was a "PR document" not a deal. She pointed out that if the federal government does not pay up for security spending as expected, L.A. could be in trouble.

" It leaves the taxpayers with a GoFundMe strategy," she said.

The city services agreement lays the groundwork for more negotiations between LA28 and the city. Each venue will require its own agreement, to be negotiated by July 1, 2027. Venues in the city of L.A. include Dodger Stadium, the L.A. Convention Center, L.A. Memorial Coliseum and the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

The City Council's ad-hoc committee on the 2028 Games will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on the agreement.