Customs and Border Protection officers requested identity documents from passengers disembarking a domestic flight at New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Wednesday.
Passenger Kelley Amadei told New York’s local NBC News station that as Delta flight 1583 was taxiing to the gate around 8:30 p.m, an attendant told travelers to get their identification documents ready for review.
Before passengers even stepped onto the jet bridge, they were met by two officers from CBP.
The incident prompted some passengers on the flight from San Francisco to share images of the ordeal online, amid increased tensions after President Donald Trump’s administration issued a wide-ranging set of orders instructing officials to quickly deport undocumented immigrants.
In a statement that New York Times reporter Eli Rosenberg posted on Twitter, CBP said it was assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in locating a person they believed may have been on the flight.
An immigration judge had ordered that person’s removal. The Washington Post reported the person was an undocumented immigrant facing a deportation order.
A CBP spokesperson told NBC News that they did not have a picture of who they were looking for, just a name. The agency “does this regularly,” the spokesperson added. Many on Twitter did not agree.
Delta did not return The Huffington Post’s request for comment. However, it responded to some Twitter users demanding to know why passengers were required to show identification when leaving the plane. In a series of tweets, Delta responded with CBP’s above statement that Rosenberg posted.
