- TSA staff shortage disrupts major airport travel.
- ICE agents not specifically trained for TSA duties.
- Democrat calls Trump’s ICE airport plan reckless.
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at US airports if congressional Democrats do not immediately agree to fund airport security.
Transportation Security Administration staff are expected to miss a second full paycheck on March 27 due to a partial government shutdown on its 36th day as lawmakers clash over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of the TSA and ICE.
TSA agents have called in sick as paychecks dried up and security guard shortages disrupted travel at major airports. More than 400 TSA employees have resigned since the partial shutdown began on February 14, NBC News reported Saturday, citing DHS.
“I will move our brilliant, patriotic ICE agents into airports where they will provide security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social.
In a later message, Trump said the deployment would begin Monday “if Democrats do not enable fair and proper security at our airports and elsewhere in our country.”
TSA has approximately 65,000 employees, including 50,000 airport security officers.
ICE, at the heart of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown
ICE agents are not specifically trained in airport security, which is the domain of the TSA. ICE has played a central role in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, drawing criticism from many Democrats, civil liberties advocates and immigration advocacy groups.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, criticized Trump’s proposal as “another reckless and lawless threat to misuse ICE agents.”
“He seems to have no idea what limits are being placed on ICE, and I think America would be absolutely appalled to see ICE agents roaming airports, just as they are breaking down doors to homes,” Blumenthal told reporters in Washington.
Homeland Security has historically shifted resources between agencies when there are staffing shortages during emergencies, said Stewart Baker, a DHS policy official in President George W. Bush’s administration. Keeping the TSA without paid staff creates “serious problems” for the agency, Baker said.
Using ICE agents for airport security “may be slower than using trained people, but it would be better than having no one,” he added.
ICE, working with Customs and Border Protection, has deployed agents in recent months to several regions as part of the crackdown, most recently in Minnesota in an operation that resulted in agents fatally shooting U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Their deaths sparked a backlash and led the Trump administration to take a more targeted approach in Minnesota.
Trump this month fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem amid growing criticism of the administration’s immigration tactics. The U.S. Senate is considering Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma, as the next DHS secretary.
Trump has said his immigration policy aims to curb illegal immigration and improve national security.
Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union said the TSA provided ICE with lists of travelers from the airport, calling the move a departure from previous TSA practices.
