Starting Monday, the Trump administration will send ICE agents to airports across the country, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said Sunday.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of both ICE and TSA, the past A funding bill for the Department failed to pass after the Senate on February 14.
Democrats refused to sign the DHS funding bill without modesty changes Complies with the rules governing ICE’s crackdown on immigrants, especially in light of their killings. Renee Good and Alex Pretty by ICE agents.
The funding cut has placed a huge financial burden on TSA staff who are expected to work without pay for the second time in six months, the first time The longest full government shutdown in US history.
A third of TSA agents working at half of the nation’s busiest airports walked off the job Saturday. Travelers were welcomed as airports operated at reduced capacity incredibly long queues at security checkpoints.
As Democrats stick to their guns on DHS funding demands, Trump threatened ICE’s posting on Saturday’s Truth Social account claimed agents would not only assist the TSA, but also arrest immigrants “with a heavy focus on those from Somalia.”
The union representing TSA officers immediately a statement ICE agents opposed the decision, saying they would cause more problems than they could solve.
“ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security,” said Everett Kelly, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. “Placing untrained personnel in security stations does not fill the gap, it creates a gap.”
There is inconsistency from administration officials about exactly what ICE agents are best trained to do.
Homan said CNN TSA agents will handle “non-essential roles” that don’t require “special expertise” … like guarding the exit so they can return to scanning machines and move people around more quickly.
Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said ABC News That ICE agents have adequate security training and “operate the same type of security vehicles at the southern border.”
Finally, there is no clear plan yet on how the deployment will go tomorrow. Homan told CNN he expects a “well-thought-out plan” to be completed before the hours-long deployment.
The union argues there is a better way to solve the problem: pay workers.
“Our members at TSA show up every day without pay because they believe in our mission to keep the flying public safe,” Kelly said. “They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who demonstrate how dangerous they can be.”
Both ICE and TSA are funded by DHS, but ICE was not affected by the partial government shutdown. 75 billion dollars it was purchased from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill last year. Democrats like House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries proposed funding TSA and other agencies under DHS by splitting ICE and Customs and Border Protection funding, but the bill failed in the Senate because Republicans and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted against it.
While most Republicans oppose separating ICE and CBP from the DHS funding bill, some, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, have recently begun to support the idea. Republican Sen. John F. Kennedy said that if the DHS bill passes without the immigration agencies, then ICE could be funded through a compromise bill that could pass the 50-vote Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.
