ICE Agents Deployed to U.S. Airports to Help Ease TSA Staffing Shortages

ICE agents began patrolling at least 14 airports nationwide Monday as the Trump administration sought to ramp up pressure on Democrats five weeks into a federal funding impasse. For Kauai residents and visitors moving through Lihue Airport, the deployment is a signal of how far the shutdown's ripple effects have reached — even if LIH itself was not among the airports named.

The Trump administration said it deployed hundreds of ICE agents to airports across the country to address TSA staffing shortages amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. The partial shutdown began Feb. 14, and at least 400 TSA officers have quit after being forced to work without paychecks. Thousands of TSA employees who have been working without pay since the shutdown began have called out of work, with roughly 10 percent of the agency's 50,000 security officers nationwide calling out on a single day.

The staffing shortages have resulted in security wait times up to three to four hours at some of the nation's busiest airports. In Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, New York, New Orleans, and other cities, uniformed ICE agents were seen directing passengers through checkpoints staffed by TSA officers; the agents wore vests and some were armed with handguns.

White House border czar Tom Homan said ICE agents would deploy to airports across the country to assist TSA officers with security at airport entrances and exits, and said he was working on the deployment plan with leaders of both ICE and the TSA. He said the deployment would begin at large airports with the longest wait times and that agents would cover security points but not assist with baggage screenings.

Hawaii's state airports agency moved to reassure island travelers even before Monday's deployment. The Hawaii Department of Transportation acknowledged national news stories reporting that small airports might close or pause operations due to the partial DHS shutdown, but reassured the public that all Hawaii airports are being staffed and will remain open and operational. DHS would not say which airports are included in the ICE deployment, citing security concerns.

The union representing TSA workers pushed back hard on the move. American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley warned that "replacing unpaid TSA workers with ICE agents is not a solution, but a dangerous escalation," stressing that TSA officers spend months developing highly specialized skills to detect explosives, weapons, and sophisticated threats designed to evade screening.

Lines at TSA checkpoints have grown in recent weeks with spring break travel underway as the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has dragged on since mid-February. DHS says nearly 400 of the TSA's 50,000 officers have quit, and at Houston's Hobby International Airport, 55 percent of officers were out on March 14 alone, right at the height of the spring break travel season.

Over the weekend, a Senate Democratic proposal to advance a bill to pay TSA personnel failed along party lines, while negotiations over DHS funding continue, with Democrats pushing for changes including barring ICE agents from wearing masks and requiring judicial oversight. With the FIFA World Cup headed to the U.S. later this year and spring break travel in full swing and America's 250th birthday celebrations throughout the year, the stakes are especially high for resolution before another peak travel season hits Lihue's gates.