A nationwide survey shows that fear of immigration enforcement is reshaping daily life for immigrants across the United States, with travel emerging as a major concern. About 27 percent of immigrants said they have avoided trips within the country or overseas to reduce the risk of encounters with immigration authorities.
The hesitation is not limited to undocumented migrants. The survey found that many immigrants with legal status, along with some naturalized U.S. citizens, are also choosing to stay put, reflecting a broader climate of anxiety.
The trend follows the Trump administration’s stepped up immigration enforcement, which has expanded scrutiny at airports, border crossings, and other transit points.
The anxiety around travel is backed by new data. The 2025 Survey of Immigrants, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation in partnership with The New York Times, found that nearly three in ten immigrants said they altered or cancelled travel plans specifically to avoid drawing attention from immigration authorities.
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The survey shows the fear is most acute among undocumented immigrants, nearly two thirds of whom said they avoided travel both within the United States and abroad. But the concern extends beyond those without legal status. About one third of H-1B visa holders said they chose not to travel, and even among naturalized U.S. citizens, a notable share said they stayed home to avoid potential scrutiny.
The timing is especially striking as it coincides with the U.S. holiday season, typically the busiest travel stretch of the year from Halloween through New Year’s Eve. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year are usually marked by packed airports and crowded highways. This year, however, many immigrants opted to stay put, citing concerns about heightened checks and closer scrutiny during one of the most heavily monitored travel periods.
The survey suggests a clear motive behind these choices: many immigrants are trying to keep a low profile. That caution has deepened amid reports that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has shared domestic travel information, including passenger lists, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising fears that routine travel could invite unwanted attention.
Until recently, immigration authorities had mostly steered clear of using domestic flight information. The survey frames the shift as part of a broader push by the Trump administration to expand data sharing among federal agencies, making it easier to identify, detain, and deport immigrants who may be in the country unlawfully.
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H-1B visa holders, in particular, seem to be feeling the impact. In July, the U.S. State Department scrapped remote and third country renewals for H-1B and H-4 visas, requiring applicants to travel back to their home countries to complete the process.
Two months later, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B applications. By early December, the administration had widened social media screening, with officials reviewing applicants’ online activity as part of the vetting process.
The policy shifts quickly strained U.S. consulates and embassies, with the impact felt most sharply in India. Diplomatic missions were forced to reshuffle interview schedules on a large scale. In several cases, visa appointments slated for December 2025 were postponed by nearly a year, with some reportedly pushed as far out as 2027. The disruptions left hundreds of skilled professionals stranded in their home countries after travelling for interviews, cut off from their jobs and families in the United States.
Yet the survey also points to a striking contradiction. Even amid heightened anxiety over enforcement, most immigrants said they would still choose to come to the United States if given the chance to decide again. While concerns about scrutiny and deportation remain, many continue to view the country as a land of opportunity.
The findings are based on a nationally representative survey of 1,805 immigrant adults currently living in the U.S.