US immigration agents arrested a Johns Hopkins University researcher at an airport where she planned to board a domestic flight as immigration arrests by President Donald Trump's administration have surged at airports in recent weeks.

Fatima Ameaka, who is from Cameroon and an employee at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Baltimore Washington International Airport, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Friday.

Lawyers say there has been an uptick in immigration enforcement and arrests at airports.

They say the focus has been those who have overstayed visas, even if they have pending applications for asylum or marriage.

The number of people who overstay temporary US visas annually is in the hundreds of thousands, government data shows.

‘Respected member’ of community

DHS said she had overstayed her visa that allowed her to stay till June 2024 and would remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Johns Hopkins said Ameaka was "a respected member" of its community and the school was arranging support for her.

US media, including The New York Times, reported this week that foreign citizens with expired visas are being arrested as they travel through airports in an expansion of an arrangement between ICE and the Transportation Security Administration.