Cellphone video captured undercover federal immigration agents arresting a woman at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, placing her into an unmarked truck as she protested that she had done nothing wrong. The arrest, which unfolded in plain view of other travelers, is the latest example of ICE agents operating inside LAX terminals.
According to ABC7 Los Angeles, the footage shows undercover ICE agents detaining the woman before placing her in a truck. When asked about the reason for the encounter, an ICE agent cited an immigration violation, the outlet reported. The woman is heard on the video saying, “I'm not doing anything wrong.”
Los Angeles World Airports responded to reports of the ICE activity at LAX, with airport officials saying federal agencies handle their own independent investigations. Per the station's report, airport operations continued as normal following the arrest.
A Federal Agency Chasing Monthly Arrest Records
The LAX arrest comes as ICE pursues what the station described as a nationwide push to set records for the most arrests by the agency in a single month. ICE has not yet made public its arrest numbers for September, but the agency's recent run has been historic: the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that ICE arrested 50,925 noncitizens nationwide in August, a new single-month record following 50,208 arrests in July and 43,900 in June.
That surge has been fueled in part by a tactical shift. Following a 2026 policy change driven by a White House target of 2,000 daily arrests, ICE pivoted away from high-visibility neighborhood raids toward rapid, low-visibility interceptions at transit hubs, traffic stops, and airport terminals, according to CBS News, with typical street encounters lasting under 90 seconds. The outlet also reported that a May 2025 data-sharing agreement between the Transportation Security Administration and ICE, made public in July following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, allows ICE agents to access passenger flight information from Secure Flight databases to locate and intercept targeted travelers inside airport terminals.
Visa Revocations Targeting Asylum Seekers
The arrest also lands amid a broader federal effort affecting travelers nationwide. ABC7 reported that the U.S. State Department is preparing to revoke up to 200,000 travel visas held by people who subsequently applied for asylum in the United States. According to PBS, the State Department is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to revoke B1 and B2 business and tourism visas issued between 2016 and 2026, taking the position that seeking asylum after entering the country on a visitor visa constitutes visa fraud.
Federal detention data adds further context to who is being swept up in the broader enforcement push. Records analyzed by TRAC at Syracuse University found that as of July 11, 70.6% of the 65,765 people held in ICE detention nationwide had no criminal convictions, with individuals lacking criminal records making up the majority of monthly ICE arrestees for the first time.
LAX Operations
LAX is operated by Los Angeles World Airports, according to the City of Los Angeles.
