The United States government deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the country's airports on Monday to alleviate the workload of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The White House's "border czar," Tom Homan, announced on Monday that ICE officers will be sent to fourteen U.S. airports. These include Chicago O'Hare, John F. Kennedy, and Newark, which serve New York, Southwest Florida International, Louis Armstrong (New Orleans), and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh airports, according to CNN. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told NBC News that Trump is "taking steps to deploy hundreds of ICE agents to airports that are negatively impacted." The deployment of ICE officers to LaGuardia Airport in New York's Queens district was also planned, but it will remain closed until at least 2:00 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. GMT) following a collision between a plane and a fire truck on the runway. Homan explained on Sunday that ICE will assist the TSA "to do their job in areas that don't require specialized knowledge," such as monitoring an exit, managing queues, or controlling crowds. Meanwhile, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens clarified that federal officials had informed him that this deployment "is not intended to carry out immigration control activities." However, the measure has drawn criticism from opposition politicians like New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, who stated that sending agents "without training is not an acceptable solution." Similarly, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it "unacceptable" that "workers and travelers are being held hostage to political games." TSA employees have not been paid since February due to the Democratic boycott of the president's aggressive immigration policy. The Senate rejected funding for the DHS for the fifth time since Friday, leaving it in a partial shutdown for five weeks and affecting the TSA and immigration agencies. The suspension of TSA workers' pay has led many to take leave or resign, causing extremely long lines at major U.S. airports such as Atlanta, New York's JFK, and New Orleans. "The Democrats have paralyzed the government and are punishing the men and women of the TSA because they don't like immigration law being enforced," Homan said to reporters at the White House today.
