President Trump announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be sent to U.S. airports to assist Transportation Security Administration workers as longer security lines have emerged amid the partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown. Trump posted the move on Truth Social, saying, “On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job.”
The shutdown, now in its sixth week, has paused paychecks for TSA employees. Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis told NPR that more than 400 TSA officers have quit and thousands have called out because they cannot afford basic expenses, creating hours-long delays for travelers. She said the agency plans to deploy “hundreds” of ICE officers to airports being adversely affected, though DHS did not specify locations.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said federal agents would be at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to assist with line management and crowd control, and that officials indicated the deployment is not intended for immigration enforcement.
The plan drew criticism from TSA’s union and civil liberties advocates. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security and warned against replacing paid, trained TSA personnel with armed immigration agents. The ACLU said immigration agents in airports could “inspire fear among families.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also voiced concerns, saying untrained ICE agents should not be deployed to airports.
Tom Homan, the White House border czar, whom Trump said is “in charge” of the deployment, described the effort as a work in progress. He told CNN he expects ICE officers to take over guard duties at some terminal entries and exits so TSA can focus on specialized checkpoint tasks, though he said ICE would not be operating X-ray machines because they are not trained for that work.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy offered a different view on ABC, saying ICE personnel “know how to run the X-ray machines” because both agencies fall under DHS. Duffy warned that wait times could worsen if Congress does not restore DHS funding by the end of next week, when another round of TSA paychecks is scheduled to be missed.
Congress recently failed for a fifth time to advance a DHS funding bill, leaving TSA, FEMA and other agencies short-staffed. ICE, however, still has funding after Congress allocated billions to the agency last summer as part of a broader spending measure.
The DHS shutdown followed the deaths of two U.S. citizens during federal immigration operations in Minnesota, which prompted Democrats to seek policy changes including a judicial-warrant requirement and a ban on ICE agents wearing masks. It was not immediately clear whether any ICE agents deployed to airports would wear masks.
Homan said he has met with lawmakers to discuss DHS funding but gave no sign a deal is imminent. He also said ICE agents will continue to enforce immigration laws while deployed at terminals and security lines.
NPR’s Jennifer Ludden contributed to this story.