Homan Confirms Airport Deployment
Starting Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will deploy to airports to assist TSA officers amid a partial government shutdown, confirmed White House border czar Tom Homan. Homan stated he is working with the ICE director and TSA administrator to finalize the plan. President Trump stated he would send ICE agents to airports, which he confirmed on Sunday.
Roles and Responsibilities
Homan clarified that ICE agents will not be involved in security scanning measures at airports. Instead, they will focus on guarding exit lanes and checking IDs to free up TSA officers for screenings and more specialized work. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated ICE agents know how to run X-ray machines, a claim Homan refuted.
Shutdown's Impact on TSA
The partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, ongoing since mid-February, has led to staffing shortages at TSA checkpoints. More than 400 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, according to NBC News. Wait times of 120 minutes were reported at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Friday, according to CBS News.
For example, the White House and CBS News report that more than 300 TSA employees have quit, differing from NBC's figure.
Criticism and Concerns
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized the plan to deploy ICE agents, saying the "last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill." A TSA union steward in Atlanta, George Borek, said untrained personnel at checkpoints "could be a problem."
Funding Standoff
Democrats have refused to fund DHS without new guardrails on ICE, seeking reforms to DHS' immigration enforcement operation following two separate deadly shootings by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in January. Sen. Ted Cruz is proposing splitting off ICE and Customs and Border Protection from the rest of funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Republicans have blocked Democratic efforts to fund individual agencies that DHS oversees, including TSA.
Enforcement and Immigration
Trump said in a Truth Social post Saturday that ICE agents would arrest undocumented immigrants at airports, with "heavy emphasis on those from Somalia." Homan stated that ICE agents will continue to enforce immigration laws as they deploy to terminals and security lines.
No End in Sight
Congress is scheduled to go on an extended break near the end of the month for a two-week Easter recess, unless the impasse is resolved. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has threatened to keep senators in Washington if the government is still shut down. With absences climbing and paychecks missed, the situation at airports will likely worsen without a resolution, potentially forcing some smaller airports to close.
The sources also report a discrepancy: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told ABC that ICE agents "know how to run the X-ray machines because they are again under Homeland Security with TSA," directly contradicting Homan's statement that ICE agents are not trained for X-ray screening.