Ten Santa Clara County residents have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while traveling through San Francisco International Airport and San José Mineta International Airport since July 1, according to the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network.
The arrests are prompting immigration attorneys to urge noncitizens across the Bay Area, including Palo Alto's roughly 25,000 foreign-born residents, to consult a lawyer before booking any domestic flight.
"We are recommending that during this period of time, during this administration … if you don't have an urgent matter to travel for, even domestically, that you think about it to determine whether the risks are worth it," Jazmin Preciado, an attorney with Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland, told KQED.
Six of the 10 arrests occurred at SFO and four at San José's airport, the network's spokesperson said. The detained travelers include people who overstayed tourist visas, asylum seekers with open cases, and permanent residents with prior law enforcement contact on their records.
The first known ICE airport arrest of a Santa Clara County resident at San José airport occurred in November 2025. Since then, the network has recorded a few arrests each month. More than a dozen people total have been detained at Bay Area airports since June 27, according to multiple rapid response networks.
Why airports?
The answer is data sharing.
The Transportation Security Administration shares passenger information with ICE because both agencies fall under the Department of Homeland Security. TSA acting director Ha Nguyen McNeill told Congress in January that such information sharing is "routine and legal."
Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program at the San Francisco Bar Association, said the pattern suggests something new. TSA appears to be cooperating with ICE "at a level that we haven't seen before," Atkinson told KQED.
In March, a New York Times investigation found that TSA tipped off immigration officials after a Contra Costa County mother and daughter appeared on a flight's passenger list. The pair were detained at SFO.
Local context
About 37% of Palo Alto's 67,600 residents were born outside the United States, and roughly 16.5% are not U.S. citizens, according to Census Bureau data. More than 42% of residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home.
Palo Alto's police department prohibits officers from assisting with ICE operations or inquiring about immigration status for enforcement purposes. In June, the City Council voted to file an amicus brief opposing a planned ICE detention facility near Gilroy. Mayor Vicki Veenker said in January 2026, responding to ICE enforcement activity in the region, that if operations "are unlawful, we will demand accountability and pursue every avenue to keep our residents safe."
Santa Clara County has also expanded legal resources. In June, the county signed a roughly $200,000 agreement with La Raza Centro Legal to fund habeas corpus petitions for detained residents. County Executive James R. Williams warned on July 19 that the federal government's new Public Charge Rule could cause immigrant families to delay medical care or forgo food assistance out of fear.
Resources
The Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network operates a 24/7 emergency hotline at (408) 290-1144 and provides free legal assistance. The network has grown to 3,000 volunteers and 10 partner organizations, including Amigos de Guadalupe, SIREN, Asian Law Alliance, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, and Pangea Legal Services. More information is available at sccrrn.org.
Advocates say noncitizens who must fly should speak with an immigration attorney first to assess their individual risk.
