Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ice) officials have begun showing up at U.S. airports as the ongoing partial U.S. government shutdown affects the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents cause passenger delays.
The Department of Homeland Security has chosen not to disclose which airports are using ICE officers to support TSA agents, citing reasons related to operational security. president Donald Trump In light of the current partial government shutdown, it was announced that ICE officers would be deployed to airports starting Monday.
ICE officers dispatched to 14 airports
However, White House border czar Tom Homan said that as of Monday morning, ICE officers had been dispatched to 14 airports. Homan said federal officials were on hand to assist Americans as they navigated security lines extended by Democrats’ decision to shut down the federal government.
When asked on Monday whether ICE officers would make immigration-related arrests, Homan clarified that their role was to support Transportation Security Administration agents in conducting security operations. He further said Sunday that ICE officials will not assume TSA-specific duties, such as verifying travelers’ identities as they enter security screening areas.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said Monday in Memphis that federal officials “will make sure those lines move.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump asked ICE officials not to wear masks while “helping our country get rid of the chaos Democrats are causing at airports.”
Flight attendants union slams ‘ICE invasion’
Still, leaders of the flight attendant union are insisting that TSA workers receive compensation as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warns that delays for travelers getting through security lines will only get worse if the government shutdown continues.
Likewise, the flight attendants union called the prospect of “ICE intrusions” at airports “another distraction from solutions to protect Americans” and stressed that transportation security officers are irreplaceable.
The union claims security staff undergo six months of training, during which they learn to screen passengers while assessing and managing risks unique to the airport environment. The training includes identifying concealed or dismantled weapons and explosives, according to union leaders.
A look at U.S. airports where ICE officers are deployed
According to the Associated Press, ICE officers were spotted patrolling and standing near long security lines at the following terminals:
- Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
- New York John F. Kennedy International Airport.
- Louis Armstrong International Airport near New Orleans.
- Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey.
According to CNN, other airports include:
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
- Houston William P. Hobby Airport.
- LaGuardia Airport (New York).
- Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
- Philadelphia International Airport.
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
- Pittsburgh International Airport.
- Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida).
