Federal immigration officers were deployed at Southwest Florida International Airport Monday to supplement the Transportation Security Administration during a government shutdown currently in effect.
President Donald Trump said last week that he would deploy the ICE agents to help lessen long lines at security checkpoints across the country.
A statement about the ICE presence was provided to the media by Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis, Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security:
“Because of the Democrat shutdown, President Trump is using every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hours long lines at airports across the country—especially during this spring break and holiday season that is very important for many American families. This pointless, reckless shutdown of our homeland security workforce has caused more than 400 TSA officers to quit and thousands to call out from work because they are not able to afford gas, childcare, food, or rent. While the Democrats continue to put the safety, dependability, and ease of our air travel at risk, President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted. This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions.”
Some TSA workers at airports across the U.S. have quit or not shown for work due to not being paid.
Most passengers asked were positive about seeing the ICE agents at the RSW terminal.
"I was just happy they're jumping in to help out. And I think passengers should be happy because they're just going to help people to try move through the lines quicker," said John Prete of Naples. "You can't just have three TSA agents. Gotta have as much full complement as possible, so if they can help out, I mean more power to 'em."
There have been federal officers at international airports such as RSW on a regular basis, but they were normally not visible at TSA security checkpoints.
Other passengers, such as Karen Herreid of Minnesota, were not put off much by the ICE visibility: "I, in general, would rather not see ICE, but if I see them and they don't have guns and masks, that's maybe not as bad."
Still others, like Kenneth Roberts of Georgia, were circumspect:
"I assume they're not going to operate the x-ray machines because they're not trained, but any other job, that would be great, although so far, the ones that I've seen have not being doing anything other than standing in groups off to the side.
The Associated Press reports that some fear the move to deploy federal immigration agents will only escalate tensions.
Some unions representing aviation workers stressed that ICE officers don’t have the same training and expertise as TSA workers — and the presence of federal immigration officers could also put some travelers on edge.
On Monday morning, Associated Press journalists saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers patrolling terminals and standing watch beside long lines of passengers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Louis Armstrong International Airport outside New Orleans.
Federal officers are a routine presence at international airports, where Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving travelers and Homeland Security Investigations agents handle criminal cases. But what’s unusual in the current moment is their visibility at TSA security checkpoints.
At Atlanta’s airport, ICE officers wearing tactical vests carried handguns holstered on their hips. At least one had what appeared to be a short-barreled, assault-style rifle slung across his chest.
Whether ICE will have a more sweeping role beyond watching long lines and patrolling terminals has yet to be seen. On Sunday, Trump said federal immigration officers could assist TSA by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs. The administration signaled the deployments would be limited to large airports with the longest wait times.
Still, long wait times and some closed checkpoints persisted at some major hubs Monday. Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson, for example, was still urging passengers to allow at least four hours for both domestic and international screenings. And in Houston, George Bush Intercontinental outlined screening times between two and a half and four hours at its two checkpoints that remained open.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
