President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to major airports across the country. Meanwhile, a growing personnel crisis at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has disrupted travel across the country.
The decision comes amid a long-running government funding impasse that has left thousands of TSA workers without pay, triggering mass absenteeism, resignations and long security lines at several major hubs.
Department of Homeland Security (Department of Homeland Security) said in a statement to Reuters, “President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers (currently funded by Congress) to adversely affected airports. This will help strengthen the Transportation Security Administration’s efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize disruption to air travel.”
Read more: Partial Govt. Shutdown: TSA employees work without pay for second time in recent months
Which airports are likely to deploy ICE?
The number of airports where ICE is deployed may vary, according to sources interviewed by Reuters. For security reasons, the Department of Homeland Security did not specify which airports will be stationed.
According to PBS, White House border czar Tom Homan said the focus of the rollout will be “large airports where wait times are long, like three hours.”
The New York Times confirmed that ICE officers were at Newark Liberty International Airport early Monday morning.
The New York Times cited the situation in other major cities in a document obtained by the publication. Here are the names:
- New York regional airports (JFK, LaGuardia): The New York Post reported that security check wait times at New York airports were as long as three hours, which was “crazy.”
- Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta: Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said his administration has been informed that ICE agents will be sent to Hartsfield-Jackson, Reuters reported.
- HoustonMajor Terminals: The Houston Chronicle reported that wait times at some terminals at Bush Airport were as long as nearly four hours.
- Philadelphia International Airport
- Chicago O’Hare Airport
- new orleans and,
- Phoenix
TSA agents at these airports reportedly have the longest wait times and the highest absenteeism rates.
Homan described the deployment as a “work in progress,” with final missions and numbers still being determined.
Read more: Security line reaches Houston airport parking lot as TSA agents no longer appear
Are ICE agents up to the task?
Homan said on Sunday that queues at airports would be shortened by deploying immigration officers to support understaffed situations TSA crew. Trump also wrote on Truth Social on Sunday, “ICE will do better than ever!”
However, Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in an online statement Sunday that “ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security. TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons and threats designed to evade detection at checkpoints.”
He further elaborated that TSA staff are recertified multiple times on these skills, which requires “hands-on practice.”
