BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) -- A public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University was arrested by immigration officers while boarding a domestic flight this week.
A Johns Hopkins spokesperson confirmed that Fatima Ameaka, an employee at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, was detained while preparing to board a flight for a personal trip.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told our media partner, The Baltimore Banner, that agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) arrested Ameaka on July 28 at Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport.
DHS said Ameaka entered the United States in 2023 on a visa that has since expired, and will remain in ICE detention while awaiting an immigration court hearing.
The detention comes as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement at U.S. airports amid increased collaboration between the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and ICE, according to ICE sources.
“Though we cannot comment on the specifics of her situation, we want to assure our community that the university is actively working to provide support for Dr. Ameaka, including ensuring she has access to legal representation,” a Johns Hopkins spokesperson said in a statement.
The spokesperson added that the university is “deeply concerned” about ICE detaining Dr. Ameaka, who they described as “a respected member of our community.”
CBS News Baltimore reached out to ICE for comment but has not received a response.
ICE sources told CBS News that increased collaboration between TSA and ICE has fueled more reports of immigration arrests at U.S. airports.
Sources said that TSA has been giving tips and leads about noncitizen travelers to ICE, including information on immigrants who don’t have criminal records but are suspected of civil immigration violations, such as overstaying a visa.
In May 2025, TSA and ICE agreed to boost information sharing between the two agencies, according to a memo disclosed this week by the group American Oversight.
An ICE source told CBS News that undocumented immigrants traveling at airports are “easy targets” ICE agents can arrest in secured locations and while having information about their cases in advance.
In a statement to CBS News, Homeland Security confirmed that immigration enforcement at airports has increased.
“DHS reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country,” DHS stated. “Under President Trump, DHS will no longer tolerate this. This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport.”
By Adam Thompson (WJZ)
