August 21, 2026 - Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) has joined her Senate colleagues in demanding answers from Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director David Venturella, and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David Cummins about recent ICE actions at airports. The letter, led by Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), was also joined by Senators John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). 

This letter comes after a string of incidents nationwide, in which ICE agents – with cooperation from TSA – have acted with impunity, at times targeting people at airports. One such incident occurred just a few weeks ago at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, when ICE officers, masked, plain-clothed, and without any identification, attempted to violently arrest an elderly man, before running off following public intervention. 

“We write to express concerns regarding recent immigration enforcement actions at airports across the nation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with the apparent assistance and support of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA),” wrote the Senators. “Such actions create fear in our communities and cause disruption and distress to the traveling public.”

“Unfortunately, recent reporting by the New York Times indicates that troubling events like these are occurring frequently across the nation at America’s Airports. Such actions only served to disrupt local communities, create fear among immigrant families, and undermine the travel and tourism sector at a time when it is trying to rebound from a 5.5% decline in international tourism in 2025 that occurred due to President Trump’s misguided tariff, immigration, and foreign policies,” the Senators continued. “With all this in mind, we request your response to several questions regarding the operating relationship between ICE and TSA and the type of information that is being shared between the agencies.”

You can read the full letter HERE.

As the former top law enforcement official in Nevada, Senator Cortez Masto has prioritized protecting communities across the state. In January, Cortez Masto introduced the PUBLIC SAFETY Act to redirect almost $75 billion in funding passed in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act from ICE and send it instead to local law enforcement programs to help hire and train 200,000 local cops in communities across the U.S. She has also consistently stood up against record additional funding for ICE.

Source: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto