US Politics
ICE agents descend on US airport Monday morning after Trump threatened to deploy them
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
ICE agents have been spotted at multiple airports across the country following President Donald Trump’s threats to mobilise them amid staff shortages caused by a partial government shutdown.
Transportation Security Administration staff have been working without pay for weeks as a government funding deal expired five weeks ago.
President Trump said he would be deploying ICE agents to airports this week, vowing to guarantee “security like no one has ever seen before.”
The agents, he said, would also carry out “the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia.”
ICE agents were seen on Monday at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Miami International Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport – some of the hardest hit by the shutdown.
However, experts told The Independent that the deployment would be essentially useless as TSA staff primarily review X-ray images of luggage and conduct respectful pat-down searches of travelers.
Trump administration officials were unable to explain whether there was a coherent plan to follow in media interviews in the aftermath of the President’s announcement.
Over 50,000 TSA staff have been affected and nearly 400 have quit their jobs amid the crisis, causing further staff shortages. Others have called in sick, with TSA absences reaching their highest level in recent days, according to reports.
Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans airports have been the hardest hit, with security lines taking passengers several hours to clear.
Airport officials at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport told passengers to arrive at least three hours early in order to get through lengthy security queues. Footage from the airport appears to show travellers lining up outside the building and moving through the airport parking lot.
Over 300 flights depart from the airport every week, connecting to over 50 destinations with over 15 airlines, according to the state’s tourism website. Flight data suggests that over 12 million travellers pass through the airport every year.
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – the biggest airport by passenger traffic in the US – wait times reached up to six hours for some people on Saturday.
The airport averages 286,000 passengers per day, with over 2,100 arrivals and departures, according to its website. It is within 2 hours of 80 per cent of the American population.
“We thought four hours would do it and we still missed our flight… you need to be here six hours early,” traveller Julie Curtis told CBS News.
“It started… when we got all the way down to the front, and then we made a circle and we’ve just been going in circles. Then they said we were in the wrong line this whole time.”
Miami International Airport officials told the broadcaster that they. had not been contacted by ICE or TSA about agents being stationed there. The airport has been hit by long lines amid security delays.
Around 21.5 per cent of TSA workers at Philadelphia International Airport called out of work on Saturday, according to DHS. Three of the airport’s eight security checkpoints remained closed due to staffing shortages, with wait times fluctuating throughout Sunday.
As of Monday morning, there were a total of 906 delayed flights into or out of the US and 655 cancelled flights, according to FlightAware.com
TSA union leaders in Boston said they had not been informed of any ICE agents’ arrival.
“The New England region has not experienced the same problems as other parts of the country and so we do not see such a move as something that’s necessary at this time,” Mike Gayzagian, union president for AFGE Local 2617, which represents TSA workers in New England, said in a statement on Sunday. “However, if the staffing situation deteriorates, the need for such a move may have to be reevaluated.”
Earlier on Monday, Trump had rejected any government funding deal to end the crippling shutdown unless it included approval of his voter ID bill.
The controversial bill would impose strict new rules and ID requirements for new voters to prove their U.S. citizenship and would require states to share this information with the DHS to verify their status.
