Airport travelers in the U.S. are braving chaotic crowds and long security lines, and now, under President Donald Trump’s orders, they must also deal with the presence of armed immigration enforcement officers while flying, too.
This week, Trump deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports in order to pressure Democrats to end the government shutdown and address the shortage of Transportation Security Administration employees. TSA officers have been working without pay for more than a month, causing staff to call out of work and quit in record numbers.
Lauren Bis, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, told HuffPost in a statement that ICE’s deployment “will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions,” but did not answer questions about what duties ICE will be handling at the airport or confirm the location of officers.
Multiple outlets have reported that ICE is in at least 14 different airports, including John F. Kennedy International and La Guardia Airports in New York, Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport. This number could grow. On Monday, border czar Tom Homan told reporters ICE will be in “more” airports.
