U.S. immigration officials have begun deploying to major airports across the country to ease long security lines as many airport security personnel are off the job due to government funding impasses.
The partial government shutdown affects the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and means many airport security workers are working without pay. Financial constraints have led to increased absenteeism, staffing shortages and delays at security checkpoints.
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“This is insane. I mean, I’ve never experienced anything like this…I’ve never seen an airport like this,” passenger Andres Campos from Arlington, Virginia, told Al Jazeera.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were reportedly dispatched to 14 airports, including Atlanta and New York’s JFK Airport. Officials said the agency will assist with airport operations but will not conduct passenger screening.
The move comes as airports across the country struggle with long lines and staff shortages.
Here’s what we know:
what happened?
Approximately 50,000 TSA employees have not been paid due to the partial U.S. government shutdown after Congress failed to pass a funding bill on February 14th.
Although TSA officers are considered essential workers and many are still working, the lack of pay has led to increased absenteeism and staffing shortages at airport security checkpoints across the country. Many TSA employees had to take second jobs to support their families while they were not paid.
As a result, long lines and delays have been reported at several major airports. To deal with the chaos, the government began deploying hundreds of ICE agents to some airports.
Officials said ICE officers will help with administrative and support tasks such as managing queues and assisting with airport operations. They do not conduct security checks or replace TSA agents.
DHS announced Sunday that nearly 12% of TSA employees (more than 3,450 people) were not reporting to work, the highest absenteeism rate since the shutdown began in February.
But the move has raised concerns among some travelers and civil rights groups, who worry that the presence of immigration agents at airports could cause fear in immigrant communities, even if they are not conducting immigration checks.
Why is DHS funding stalled?
Congress must pass spending bills to keep federal agencies funded.
In early February, lawmakers approved a $1.2 trillion spending package to fund most of the federal government through September.
However, funding for DHS, which oversees agencies such as TSA, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), was excluded and would have been voted on separately.
This is why the closure affects TSA. TSA is part of DHS, so when DHS funds are blocked, TSA funds are also blocked.
Democrats refused to support the DHS funding bill unless changes were made to immigration enforcement policy. Their demands included requiring immigration officials to clearly identify themselves and banning racial profiling.
These demands come after a federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis during which two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Preti, were shot and killed by federal agents, sparking national outrage and an investigation.
Republicans rejected the changes and also opposed a Democratic plan to pass a portion of DHS funding that would exclude immigration enforcement.
The controversy has caused a political deadlock in Congress, led to a partial government shutdown, and is currently affecting TSA employees.
Why is ICE still operating despite the government shutdown?
Although ICE is part of DHS, ICE already receives separate funding through a major spending bill passed last year, so it won’t be affected in the same way as TSA.
The law, known as President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” provided ICE and CBP with billions of dollars in funding that would not expire for several years. This means that even if DHS funding is blocked, the agency can continue operating and pay its staff.
Why are ICE agents stationed at U.S. airports?
President Donald Trump announced the plan Sunday, saying he could send ICE agents to airports if lawmakers cannot reach an agreement on funding.
“If the radical left Democrats do not immediately sign a deal that will make our country, especially our airports, free and safe again, I will move our finest, patriotic ICE agents to our airports and provide security there like no one has ever seen before,” Trump said.
In a follow-up post hours later, President Trump said he had decided to press ahead with the move and had directed authorities to “get ready.” “Looking forward to ICE moving in on Monday,” he wrote.
TSA Acting Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl said ICE agents come to the airport to “assist” officers in “non-professional security operations.”
But in a social media post over the weekend, President Trump said ICE could detain illegal immigrants at airports, specifically mentioning Somali immigrants, whom he has repeatedly named in recent months.
So do ICE officers check immigration status?
President Trump’s top border official, Tom Homan, suggested in an interview with CNN on Sunday that ICE agents have a limited role in security operations.
“I’ve never seen an ICE officer look at an X-ray machine, because they’re not trained to do it,” he says. But ICE officers can “cover the exits,” allowing TSA officers to focus on screening, he said.
Everett Kelly, national president of the American Federation of Public Employees, which represents TSA employees, said in a statement that TSA agents “deserve compensation rather than being replaced by untrained, armed officers who have shown how dangerous they can be.”
Which airports have ICE agents?
The administration has not released a list, but officials have been spotted at major airports.
According to the Associated Press, ICE agents were seen patrolling the terminal and standing near long security lines at the following locations:
George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Louis Armstrong International Airport near New Orleans. Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
CNN reports that other airports include:
Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. LaGuardia Airport (New York). Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Philadelphia International Airport. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Pittsburgh International Airport. Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida).
What does this mean for travelers?
Federal agents often wore face coverings at some recent immigration screenings in U.S. cities, but most ICE officers stationed at airports were not wearing masks on Monday.
President Trump also said Monday that he doesn’t think ICE agents deployed to airports need to wear masks.
Long wait times continued at some major airports. In Atlanta, for example, passengers were still told to arrive at least four hours before their flights as security lines extended inside the terminal and outside the building. ICE officers were seen patrolling the terminal, but did not check IDs or interact directly with passengers.
Donna Troupe, who was flying from Atlanta to Miami, said she didn’t have a problem with ICE being at the airport, but she wasn’t sure how much ICE would be needed. “When I met them, they were just standing there talking,” she said.
Some travelers said police officers appeared to be helping monitor the line, while others questioned whether a police presence was necessary or said it could make some passengers feel unsafe.
Daniela Dominguez, another Atlanta traveler headed to Miami, said she worries that seeing ICE officers may make some people nervous. “I’m sure a lot of people are coming to the airport with anxiety,” Dominguez said.
Meanwhile, travel disruption continues on the East Coast after a runway crash at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Sunday night forced the airport to temporarily close and divert flights. Two pilots were killed when an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck on the runway.
What are the latest developments at DHS?
As the shutdown continues, the U.S. Senate has confirmed Sen. Markwayne Mullin as the new Secretary of DHS.
Lawmakers approved his nomination by a vote of 54-45, completing an expedited confirmation process. Marin, a businessman and former mixed martial arts fighter, supports President Donald Trump’s hard-line stance on immigration. But during his confirmation hearing, he suggested he might roll back some of his more aggressive measures, such as a directive that allows federal immigration agents to enter private homes and businesses without a judicial warrant.
After being sworn in, Marin will oversee agencies responsible for immigration enforcement, border security and airport security, all of which are at the center of the current shutdown dispute.
Trump nominated Mullin earlier this month after removing former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her post.
