According to multiple reports, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents were checking the IDs of deplaning passengers on a domestic flight from San Francisco to JFK.
Passengers leaving Delta flight 1583 in JFK were forced to show identification at the door of the plane, before entering the jet bridge.
"When we were getting out there were two customs agents," Matt O'Rouke of Manhattan told Gothamist. "I don't think they had a clipboard or a list. I think they were just looking at everybody's ID. They did it really carefully. You could tell they weren't just looking for a name. They read my entire ID and looked at me the entire time. I was probably the tenth person off the plane, and they did the same for everyone in front of me."
[CALLOUT]
Passengers were notified once the plane landed that they would be asked for identification before deplaning.
"The head flight attendant came on and said, 'Please have your papers ready' three or four times," O'Rouke said to Gothamist.
The flight attendant later corrected herself, indicating that passengers needed photo IDs rather than "their papers."
New Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rules signed by president Trump have greatly broadened the authority of ICE agents.
In a statement, the CBP said that they were looking for a specific individual.
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"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at John F. Kennedy Airport was contacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) yesterday, Feb. 22, 2017, to assist in locating an individual possibly aboard Delta flight 1583 from San Francisco International Airport to JFK. This individual was ordered removed by an immigration judge. To assist our law enforcement partners, two CBP officers requested identification from those on the flight in order to help identify the individual. The individual was determined not to be on the flight."
Ward Oliver, supervising attorney for the Immigration Law Unit at the Legal Aid Society, tells Gothamist that this is something that seems consistent with the new Department of Homeland Security memos.
"I can't say that I've ever heard of this happening at Kennedy Airport before," he said. "To me, it seems pretty clear to me what they are doing, in light of the order."
As these new immigration laws are enforced, it will pay to be prepared to have your ID at the ready wherever you are in the U.S.
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