The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) secretly gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a list of travelers’ names and birthdates, which led to the arrest of a mother at San Francisco International Airport. Videos of the incident, where Angelina Lopez-Jimenez was detained in front of her crying young daughter, Wendy Godinez-Lopez, went viral and sparked major controversy across the Bay Area.
Government documents show that TSA officials specifically flagged Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter as people believed to have outstanding deportation orders. Their names and birthdates were shared with immigration officials, making it easier for them to be detained at the airport. The TSA’s main job is airport security, not immigration enforcement.
According to The New York Times, Lopez-Jimenez, originally from Guatemala, entered the country illegally but has no criminal record. She was given a deportation order in 2019 after missing a hearing, though she did attend other appointments in her process. It is unclear whether she even knew about this specific deportation order.
TSA sharing traveler data with ICE is raising serious legal and oversight concerns
Plainclothes ICE agents forcefully detained Lopez-Jimenez on Sunday night while her young daughter watched in distress. A woman who recorded one of the viral videos said she rushed over after hearing screams and seeing the child crying. She repeatedly asked the agents to identify themselves, but received no response.
“Is this a kidnapping? Is this a federal agent?” she asked. “These are other humans that are being treated as less than. And I think, you know, anyone should react this way.” The video later shows Lopez-Jimenez being taken through the airport in a wheelchair.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement on Monday, calling Angelina and Wendy “illegal aliens” and confirming ICE was working to deport them to Guatemala. DHS said Lopez-Jimenez had an “outstanding final order of removal since 2019” and accused her of trying to flee and resisting officers. San Francisco International Airport said they were not involved in or notified of the incident in advance.
Local lawmakers pushed back strongly. Rep. John Garamendi questioned the legality of TSA’s data-sharing practices. “The real story here is the way in which databases are being used,” he said. “A mother and her daughter are detained, and within 36 hours, they’re sent to Guatemala.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie called the incident “upsetting” and said local law enforcement does not take part in federal civil immigration enforcement. If you live in an area with active ICE presence, knowing the legal distance ICE must keep from individuals could be important information to have.
State Senator Scott Wiener was more direct at a press conference, saying, “ICE is not welcome in San Francisco or at San Francisco International Airport.” He added, “We don’t need ICE or border patrol or any of these other thugs in our city and our airport. They’re not welcome here, and they need to stay the hell out.” Wiener also said he takes statements from the DHS “with a huge grain of salt.”
Separately, a judge ruled in February that the IRS broke the law “approximately 42,695” times by sharing confidential information with ICE, showing that data sharing between federal agencies has become a growing legal issue. As ICE enforcement expands across the country, understanding ICE rules and your legal rights is becoming more important than ever.
Published: Mar 25, 2026 11:33 am