Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are no longer present at the Southwest International Airport (RSW) as of Sunday, April 5, according to Steve Hennigan, executive director and CEO of the Lee County Port Authority.

Hennigan updated members of the Chamber of Southwest Florida with this information on Wednesday's presentation to the group about airport developments.

ICE agents are outside the locus of Port Authority's control. Hennigan says they were likely dispatched to Southwest Florida to assist with crowd management during the peak of airline travel season for the region, which is around Easter and Passover holidays each year.

The Southwest International Airport was the only airport in Florida that had ICE agents. Their first appearance at RSW was on March 23, during the height of partial government shutdown.

The agents' dispatch to airports corresponded with national shortages of TSA staff as they faced non-payment of their salary for six weeks. TSA agents are now receiving backpay following a presidential executive order, although the partial government shutdown continues and the long-term funding plans for TSA is unknown.

The role of ICE at RSW was mostly limited to airport security presence and patrol at security check-in areas, according to Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass, since ICE agents do not possess training to use the security machines operated by the TSA.

The departure of the ICE agents means their presence at the RSW airport lasted for a little over two weeks.

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