NEWS: Sens. Schiff, Padilla Launch Inquiry into TSA and ICE Data Sharing Following Alarming Arrest at San Francisco International Airport

Washington, D.C.– Today, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) launched aninquiryinto the alarming and questionable data sharing by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials relating to thearrestand removal of Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and her child at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
“The reporting following this incident has been alarming. It indicates that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at the San Francisco International Airport contacted ICE officers after becoming aware of this individual’s case in immigration court and its posture,”the Senators wrote.
In an inquiry directed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, and ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons, the lawmakers are requesting a full briefing along with answers to several troubling questions following Lopez-Jimenez’sarrest. These include requests for more information on the immigration status and citizenship data TSA receives at airport screenings, TSA’s policy on contacting ICE officers to arrest travelers, the timeline for when TSA began contacting ICE to make arrests at airports, the criminal convictions flagged in connection to Ms. Lopez-Jimenez arrest, and whether ICE operates deportation flights from SFO.
Read the full text of the letterhereand below:
Secretary Mullin, Senior Official NcNeill, and Acting Director Lyons:
On Sunday, March 22, a minor child and her mother, Angelina Lopez-Jimenez, were traveling through San Francisco International Airport when plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested and handcuffed Ms. Lopez-Jimenez before her minor child. The reporting following this incident has been alarming.[1] It indicates that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at the San Francisco International Airport contacted ICE officers after becoming aware of this individual’s case in immigration court and its posture.
TSA lists its criteria for consideration of disqualifying offenses and factors based on analysis of (a) Interpol, (2) terrorist watchlists, and (3) other relevant information related to convictions or guilty findings.[2] Reporting has not indicated that Ms. Lopez-Jimenez has been convicted of any crime listed in these categories or was otherwise on an Interpol or terrorist watchlist.
As such, we request responses to the following questions and an urgent Member briefing by Friday, April 3.
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