People wait in a TSA line at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, Sunday, March 22, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Yuki Iwamura/AP/AP
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Yuki Iwamura/AP/AP
President Trump has announced the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to U.S. airports, aiming to assist with the extended security lines caused by the ongoing partial government shutdown.
“On Monday, ICE will be sent to airports to support our dedicated TSA agents who have remained on duty,” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday.
Trump attributed the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, now in its sixth week, to the Democrats, which has resulted in the suspension of paychecks for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers. According to the White House, over 300 TSA officers have resigned, and others are not reporting to work, leading to considerable delays at airports across the nation.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., responded by criticizing Trump and the proposed deployment of ICE agents.
“The last thing that the American people need is for untrained ICE agents to be stationed at airports nationwide, potentially to harm or even kill them,” Jeffries said on CNN.
Trump stated that Tom Homan, the White House border czar, will oversee the ICE deployment. Both TSA and ICE are part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
However, the exact operation of this deployment at airports remains undefined.
“It’s a work in progress,” Homan commented on CNN on Sunday. “But we will be at airports tomorrow helping TSA expedite the lines.”
Unclear duties for ICE agents
Homan mentioned ongoing discussions with ICE and TSA leaders to finalize a strategy. He anticipates that ICE agents will take over guard duties from TSA agents at certain terminal entries and exits.
“I don’t envision ICE agents operating X-ray machines as they lack the training,” Homan noted. “There are aspects of security that TSA manages that we can redirect them from, allowing them to focus on specialized roles and help streamline the lines.”
However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has a different perspective on the potential roles of ICE agents at airports.
“They are familiar with operating X-ray machines since they are also part of Homeland Security with TSA,” Duffy commented on ABC on Sunday.
Duffy also cautioned that airport wait times would worsen if Congress does not fund the DHS by the end of the next week, when another TSA paycheck is due.
“I think as we approach Thursday, Friday, Saturday of next week, more TSA agents will quit or fail to show up,” Duffy predicted.
Scant negotiations progress
Last week, Congress was unable to advance a DHS funding bill for the fifth time, leaving TSA, FEMA, and other agencies without funds. Meanwhile, ICE remains well-funded after receiving billions from Congress last summer under the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The DHS shutdown began after the deaths of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minnesota. These incidents prompted Democrats to demand changes in ICE policy, including requiring judicial warrants and banning ICE agents from wearing masks, among other suggestions.
It is still uncertain whether ICE agents deployed to airports will wear masks, as they often do during immigration enforcement.
Homan reported meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week to discuss DHS funding, but he did not indicate that a resolution was imminent.
“Further discussions are necessary because we cannot compromise ICE’s authority and their congressional duties,” Homan stated on Sunday.
Regarding the ICE airport operation, Homan said agents would continue enforcing immigration laws as they are deployed to terminals and security checkpoints.
