You’re flying out of George Bush Intercontinental Airport with cash from a business transaction in your carry-on. After TSA screening, an airport police officer approaches you in the terminal. They ask how much cash you’re carrying, where it came from, and why you have it. You tell them the truth, but apparently it’s not enough. Despite your protests, the officer takes the money without arresting you, hands you a receipt, and lets you board your flight without the cash.
This type of money seizure happens often under Texas civil asset forfeiture law. Carrying cash on a domestic flight is legal, and no reporting requirement applies. Carrying cash on an international flight is also legal, although there are some reporting requirements. Even so, law enforcement can take the money based on suspicion alone and force you to fight to get it back. If you miss the deadline for contesting the seizure, the agency keeps the money without a hearing, so your next call should be to an experienced Houston airport cash seizure lawyer.
Why Hire Amanda Skillern for Your Airport Cash Seizure Case?
Airport cash seizures don’t resolve through explanations at the terminal. They resolve through filings, deadlines, and evidentiary challenges in court. Attorney Amanda Skillern knows how these lawsuits are initiated, how agencies justify seizures on paper, and where those justifications fail under scrutiny.
- Former Prosecutor Experience: Amanda Skillern spent more than eleven years as an Assistant District Attorney in Harris County. During that time, she reviewed seizure reports, evaluated forfeiture claims, and worked cases where Texas law enforcement sought to keep cash and property based on alleged criminal connections. She recognizes unsupported conclusions, boilerplate language, and gaps between what officers claim and what they can prove.
- Asset Forfeiture Division Background: For years, Amanda Skillern was assigned to the Asset Forfeiture Division, where prosecutors decide whether seized property meets statutory requirements to be kept by the government. She understands how civil forfeiture petitions are drafted, what evidence agencies rely on, and which defects lead to dismissal or return of property.
- Trial-Tested Courtroom Experience: Before opening her own firm, Amanda tried more than thirty cases to verdict in jury and bench trials. That experience shapes how forfeiture cases are handled from the start. Agencies know when a lawyer is prepared to litigate rather than settle by default.
- High-Volume Case Exposure: She handled thousands of cases as a prosecutor, ranging from misdemeanor filings to serious felony allegations. That volume matters in forfeiture litigation because patterns repeat. She’s seen the same seizure theories used again and again and knows which ones collapse when challenged with detailed documentation.
When your cash is taken at an airport, Amanda Skillern responds immediately and forces the agency to justify keeping your money. Call 832.954.4722 and let her put her extensive legal experience and acumen to work for you.
What You Need to Know About Airport Cash Seizure
Cash seizures at airports are on the rise. Between 2000 and 2016, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies recorded at least 30,574 currency seizures at U.S. airports, totaling more than $2 billion in cash and currency. The number of DHS-reported airport currency seizures grew from 931 in 2000 to 2,592 in 2016, even though the number of air travelers increased at a much lower rate during that time.
It happens in Texas, too. In January 2025, DHS agents seized approximately $800,000 in cash from a passenger at Dallas Love Field airport. According to news reports, Homeland Security Investigations and CBP task force officers, in conjunction with local police, conducted the seizure based on a police dog’s alert and a claimed odor of marijuana, though no marijuana was found. The passenger went on to contest the money seizure in federal court.
These seizures usually occur after questioning in the terminal or a consent search of luggage. Once the officer decides to take the money, they complete seizure paperwork and issue a receipt. The cash is held while the government initiates the process of forfeiture.
Civil forfeiture cases differ from criminal cases in one key way. The government does not have to prove you committed a crime. Instead, it claims the money was involved in one, or was intended to be involved in one. You then carry the responsibility of filing a legal claim to dispute that assertion. If you do nothing, the government keeps the cash without presenting evidence in court.
Common Reasons for Cash Seizures at Houston Airports
Cash seizures at Houston area airports like George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport follow documented enforcement practices rather than real proof of criminal activity. Federal and state law enforcement officers rely on a set of indicators that let them take cash first and force the owner to challenge the money seizure through civil forfeiture law.
- Large Currency Amounts: Police officers regularly cite the total amount of cash as justification for seizure. They regard large sums as inconsistent with lawful travel or personal use, despite the absence of any Texas or federal law limiting how much cash a person may carry on a domestic flight. The amount alone is framed as evidence of a criminal connection, even when the traveler provides a lawful explanation and supporting documentation.
- Travel Patterns: One-way tickets, last-minute bookings, short turnaround trips, and same-day travel appear repeatedly in airport seizure reports. Officers also reference travel between cities labeled internally as “drug trafficking source” or “drug destination” locations. These labels aren’t defined by statute, aren’t disclosed to travelers, and vary between agencies, yet they’re treated as supporting evidence in forfeiture filings.
- Responses to Questioning: Airport seizures almost always follow questioning. Officers may ask how long you’ve had the cash, where it came from, and how you plan to use it. Any pause, rephrasing, or explanation that doesn’t match the officer’s expectations is documented as inconsistent or evasive conduct. These characterizations appear later as justification for seizure.
- Consent: Many seizures occur after an officer requests consent to search luggage or inspect the cash. Once consent is given, the officer documents how the money is packaged or stored. Rubber bands, envelopes, backpacks, carry-on bags, or personal organizers are described as indicators of illegal use, even though these methods are common for transporting cash safely.
- Drug-Detection Dog Alerts: Some airport task forces use dogs trained to alert to narcotics odor. An alert is recorded as evidence supporting a seizure, even when no drugs are found, and no criminal charge follows. Because circulated U.S. currency frequently contains trace residue, alerts occur without proof that the cash was ever involved in drug trafficking activity. Despite that, alerts carry weight in forfeiture paperwork.
What Happens After Your Money Is Seized?
Once law enforcement takes cash at a Houston airport, the forfeiture timeline begins immediately. The officer who took the money should complete a seizure report and issue a property receipt listing the amount taken. The cash is then typically deposited into an interest-bearing account to await final disposition. You’re allowed to leave the airport, but you no longer have access to the money.
After the seizure, the government must send written notice stating its intent to keep the cash. That notice identifies the agency handling the case and sets a deadline to contest the seizure. If the seizure is being handled federally, that notice also explains how to file a petition or claim. If you miss the deadline or submit a defective claim, the government may take ownership of the money without a court hearing.
You may challenge the legality of the seizure, the sufficiency of the evidence, and compliance with forfeiture laws. Financial records, transaction history, and witness testimony may be used to dispute the government’s claims. While some cases resolve through negotiated return of funds, others require hearings or a trial.
How a Houston Airport Cash Seizure Lawyer Can Help
When you hire an airport cash seizure lawyer, the first thing they will do is confirm who seized the money and under which authority. That determines which statute applies, which court has jurisdiction, what deadlines are applicable and what avenue (answer, petition, claim, etc.) to take. They also:
- Review Seizure Documents: These documents may include a report, seizure receipt, search warrant return, officer’s business cards or other form of contact information. Some reports rely on recurring theories such as travel patterns, questioning summaries, dog alerts, and assumptions tied to the amount of currency. Often these reports contain boilerplate language irrelevant to the case and facts at hand. If the report fails to connect the cash to illegal activity with legally sufficient facts, that defect becomes the basis for a challenge.
- Collect Financial Documentation: The asset forfeiture attorney also gathers financial records that address the government’s claims. That can include bank statements, sales contracts, invoices, withdrawal records, or business documentation showing lawful ownership and source of funds. These records are used to rebut the narrative created in the seizure report or affidavit.
- Challenging the Seizure: Once the case enters court, the civil asset forfeiture lawyer challenges the seizure through motions, discovery requests, and evidentiary objections. Some cases resolve through negotiated return of funds when the government can’t meet its burden. Others require hearings or trial. If the correct avenue for defending against the forfeiture hasn’t been chosen and deadlines haven’t been met, none of those options exist.
Airport cash seizure cases aren’t resolved through explanation or cooperation with the individual in the airport who is trying to seize your cash. They’re resolved by forcing the government to prove it had legal grounds to keep the money. And to do that, you’ll want an experienced Houston airport cash seizure lawyer on your side.
Has Your Money Been Seized? Call a Houston Airport Cash Seizure Lawyer
When your cash is seized at a Houston airport, the deadline to act starts running immediately. Law enforcement doesn’t pause civil forfeiture because you’re traveling, gathering records, or trying to get answers. If the correct document isn’t filed on time, the government keeps your money without court review.
Amanda Skillern has handled thousands of currency seizures. That includes business owners, contractors, travelers, and family members carrying lawful funds. Each case begins by identifying who seized the money, which law applies, and how much time remains to contest the seizure. To schedule a confidential consultation, please call 832.954.4722 or contact our criminal defense law firm online today.
