NEW YORK (AP) — More federal immigration officers are making their way to U.S. airports after President Donald Trump said he’d deploy them to supplement the Transportation Security Administration during a government shutdown that has caused long lines at security checkpoints across the country.
On Monday morning, Associated Press journalists saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers patrolling terminals and standing watch beside long lines of passengers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Louis Armstrong International Airport outside New Orleans.
Federal officers are a routine presence at international airports, where Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving travelers and Homeland Security Investigations agents handle criminal cases. But what’s unusual in the current moment is their visibility at TSA security checkpoints.
Fears that the deployments will heighten tension
Some fear the move to deploy federal immigration agents will only escalate tensions. Union leaders representing aviation workers stressed that ICE officers don’t have the same training and expertise as TSA workers — and the presence of federal immigration officers could also put some travelers on edge.
At Atlanta’s airport, ICE officers wearing tactical vests carried handguns holstered on their hips. At least one had what appeared to be a short-barreled, assault-style rifle slung across his chest.
Whether ICE will have a more sweeping role beyond watching long lines and patrolling terminals has yet to be seen. On Sunday, Trump said federal immigration officers could assist TSA by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs. The administration signaled the deployments would be limited to large airports with the longest wait times.
Still, long wait times and some closed checkpoints persisted at some major hubs Monday. Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson, for example, was still urging passengers to allow at least four hours for both domestic and international screenings. And in Houston, George Bush Intercontinental outlined screening times between two and a half and four hours at its two checkpoints that remained open.
TSA workers have been going without pay
Monday's deployments of ICE agents came as hundreds of thousands of Homeland Security workers, including from the TSA, have worked without pay since Congress failed to renew DHS funding last month. That’s led many TSA agents to call in sick — or even quit their jobs — as financial strains pile up. The staffing shortages have forced some airports to close checkpoints at times, with wait times swinging dramatically for travelers.
TSA callout rates climbed over the weekend. Nationwide on Sunday, 11.8% of TSA agents missed work — the highest rate of the shutdown so far — with more than 3,450 officers calling out, according to DHS. More than 400 officers have quit during the shutdown, the department said.
The Trump administration announced over the weekend that it would be deploying federal immigration officers at TSA checkpoints, unless Democrats agreed to fund the DHS. Funding for the department lapsed Feb. 14, as Democrats refused to fund ICE as well as Customs and Border Protection without changes to their operations in the wake of the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
The ongoing budget fight
Democrats are continuing to demand major changes to federal immigration operations — including policy changes that would require ICE officers to get a warrant from a judge before forcefully entering homes, the removal of masks and clear identifying information on uniforms.
Trump on Monday directed ICE officers not to wear face coverings in their work at airports. In a social media post, Trump said he supports ICE officers wearing masks when dealing with “hardened criminals” but suggested it isn’t necessary “when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports.”
Meanwhile, critics have accused the government of using TSA workers as pawns in the ongoing budget fight. And some aviation unions have raised additional safety concerns in light of the Trump administration’s deployment of federal immigration officers.
“This latest threat of ICE invasion at the airports is another distraction from solutions that protect Americans,” a coalition of unions representing aviation workers — including the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers — said in a Sunday statement. Transportation security officers “can’t simply be replaced” by federal immigration officers, they noted, adding that ICE’s presence and potential attempts to question passengers about immigration status may also “distract them from ensuring airport security.”
The unions called for TSA workers to be paid immediately — noting that, in contrast, ICE officers are among DHS workers who have continued to see paychecks as the partial shutdown drags on.
While routine funding that is used to pay TSA agents has lapsed, ICE and other immigration enforcement operations are funded with personnel receiving paychecks thanks to Trump’s big tax cuts bill that became law last year. It ballooned the DHS budget for immigration detention and deportation by billions.
Beyond TSA operations, New York’s LaGuardia Airport shut down following a deadly collision on the runway late Sunday. An Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck while landing, officials said — killing the pilot and copilot while around 40 passengers and crew members were taken to area hospitals, some with serious injuries.
According to the FAA, LaGuardia is expected to remain closed until at least 2 p.m. ET on Monday. Air traffic has been diverted, and Monday morning operations also were halted at Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring New Jersey.
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Associated Press journalists Emilie Megnien and Mike Stewart in Atlanta; Stephen Smith in New Orleans; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Tia Goldenberg and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report.
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