Despite new assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, passengers continue to report delays at major U.S. airports.
President Trump sends ICE agents to assist TSA with airport delays
President Donald Trump sent ICE agents to assist the TSA as wait times at airports skyrocketed due to the partial government shutdown.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been dispatched to some U.S. airports to assist with long security screening waits.
- The rollout comes in response to a shortage of TSA personnel due to the partial government shutdown.
- Some travelers report that the presence of ICE agents has not helped reduce long lines.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been arriving at some U.S. airports in an effort to eliminate long wait times during the partial government shutdown, but at least one traveler at John F. Kennedy International Airport told USA TODAY that so far they’ve been “unhelpful.”
Both masked and unmasked ICE officers wearing marked vests were seen at JFK International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and travelers continued to report long wait times at airport security.
In a social media post, President Donald Trump weighed in on mask-wearing by employees, saying he is a “huge supporter of masks at ICE,” but added, “But when it saved our country from the chaos at the airports caused by Democrats, I greatly appreciated the mask ban.”
Which airports have ICE agents?
The New York Times and CNN reported that ICE officers were deployed to more than a dozen airports across the country.
Lauren Biss, acting DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, told USA TODAY that the agency does not confirm the location of employees, citing “operational security reasons.”
According to CNN, the airports are:
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- cleveland hopkins international airport
- Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- Houston William P. Hobby Airport
- John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York
- New York LaGuardia Airport
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
- Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport near San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey
- philadelphia international airport
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- pittsburgh international airport
- Southwest Florida International Airport in the Fort Myers area
The New York Times similarly reported, without naming each airport, that “airports are spread across the country, including New York’s Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as Newark, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, and Phoenix.”
What’s it like at the airport on Monday?
At JFK Airport, JetBlue representatives patrolled the lines around 9:30 a.m. ET, asking travelers if they had any flights departing before 11:30 a.m. Those who did so were dragged from the line and brought to the front.
When one of the passengers showed the representative his ticket, the representative replied, “I don’t know if I’ll make it in time for the 10:30 a.m. flight, to be honest.”
Nate Bien waited in line for a flight to Guatemala for about 30 minutes, but he still has a long way to go.
“It’s a mess,” he said. Mr. Bien, who was born in France and has lived in the United States for 18 years, likened the lines inside the JetBlue terminal to the chaos that occurs during strikes in France.
He also didn’t understand how ICE Patrol was de-escalating the situation.
“It doesn’t help,” he said. “They’re not contributing to that reduction,” he added, pointing to the rows ahead.
Why is ICE at the airport?
ICE officers were brought in to reduce wait times amid a shortage of TSA officers.
More than 1 in 10 TSA employees have protested in recent days, saying they have not been paid due to a funding crisis in Congress.
“President Trump is doing everything he can to help American travelers who are lining up for hours at airports across the country, especially this spring break and holiday season for many American families,” Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Lauren Biss said in a statement to the United States. This is a critical time. This senseless and reckless shutdown of the Homeland Security workforce has resulted in more than 400 TSA employees retiring and thousands of others being out of work,” Lauren Biss, acting assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement to the United States. today. “President Trump is taking steps, currently funded by Congress, to deploy hundreds of ICE officers to adversely affected airports. This will help strengthen TSA’s efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize disruption to air travel.”
Reuters reported that ICE officers will not be immediately deployed to secure areas of the airport because they lack proper security clearance.
contribution: N’Dare Yancey Bragg;America Today
