ICE deployed to help with security at US airports

LOS ANGELES – The Trump administration said Sunday that ICE agents will begin handling some security duty at U.S. airports Monday amid an ongoing partial government shutdown that has sidelined many Transportation Security Administration officers.

Travelers are being warned to expected delays.

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Border czar Tom Homan, who is in charge of the effort, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that it was about “helping TSA do their mission and get the American public through that airport as quick as they can while adhering to all the security guidelines and the protocols.”

“We’re simply there to help TSA do their job in areas that don’t need their specialized expertise, such as screening through the X ray machine,” he said. “Not trained in that? We won’t do that. But there are roles we can play to release TSA officers from the non-significant roles, such as guarding an exit so they can get back to the scanning machines and move people quicker.”

People wait in a TSA line at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, Sunday, March 22, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Further details about the plan were expected later Sunday.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump said he would order ICE agents to assist with airport security if Congress did not immediately reach an agreement to fund TSA officers.

Immigration arrests at airports

In a social media post, Trump said ICE agents could also be tasked with making immigration arrests at airports.

“If the radical left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our country, in particular, our airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE agents to the airports where they will do security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The proposal comes as a partial government shutdown has left roughly 50,000 TSA employees working without pay, contributing to increased absenteeism and staffing shortages at airports nationwide.

Administration officials said about 10% of TSA workers failed to report for duty on some recent days, compared to typical rates of under 2%.

LAX officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Sunday, but a spokesperson for Orange County’s John Wayne Airport said local officials were working with their federal counterparts.

“Responsibility for the Transportation Security Administration, including staffing levels and resources, are determined at the federal level.

We remain in close communication with our federal partners to receive information on efforts to mitigate potential impacts to travelers at John Wayne Airport,” airport Public Information Officer AnnaSophia Servin told City News Service. (CNS)

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