President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to major airports across the country to bolster TSA efforts amidst a staffing crisis.
The decision comes amid a prolonged government funding standoff that has left thousands of TSA workers unpaid, triggering mass absenteeism, resignations and long security queues at several major hubs.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers to airports being adversely impacted to help keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions.
The number of airports for ICE deployments may vary, according to sources who spoke to Reuters, with the DHS not specifying which airports agents will be stationed at for security reasons.
Priority of deployment will be given to large airports with long wait times, such as New York-area airports (JFK, LaGuardia), Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, Houston's major terminals, Philadelphia International Airport, Chicago O'Hare Airport, New Orleans, and Phoenix.
However, the American Federation of Government Employees' president, Everett Kelley, stated that ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security, and that TSA officers undergo multiple recertifications for these skills.
