ICE agents deployed to US airports: Which airports are affected? 

United States immigration agents have begun deploying to major airports across the US to help ease long security lines as a government funding standoff leaves many airport security staff off work.

The partial government shutdown affects the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), meaning many airport security officers are working without pay. The financial strain has led to increased absences, causing staff shortages and delays at security checkpoints.

“This is insane. I mean, I’ve never experienced anything like this… I’ve never seen an airport like this,” Andres Campos, a passenger in Arlington, Virginia, told Al Jazeera.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were reportedly sent to 14 airports, including Atlanta and New York’s JFK airport. Officials say the agents will support airport operations but will not carry out passenger screening.

The move comes as airports across the country struggle with long lines and staff shortages.

Here is what we know:

What happened?

About 50,000 TSA officers have not been paid due to the partial US government shutdown, after Congress failed to pass funding legislation on February 14.

Although TSA officers are considered essential workers and many are still on the job, the lack of pay has led to increased absences and staffing shortages at airport security checkpoints across the country. Many TSA workers have had to take second jobs to support their families while they are not being paid.

As a result, long lines and delays have been reported at several major airports. To help manage the disruption, the government has begun deploying hundreds of ICE officers to assist at some airports.

Officials say the ICE officers will help with administrative and support tasks, such as managing queues and assisting airport operations. They will not carry out security screenings or replace TSA officers.

The DHS said that on Sunday, nearly 12 percent of TSA officers – more than 3,450 workers – did not report for duty, the highest absence rate since the shutdown began in February.

However, the move has raised concerns among some travellers and civil rights groups, who worry the presence of immigration officers at airports could cause fear among immigrant communities, even if the agents are not conducting immigration checks.

Why is there a deadlock in the DHS funding?

Congress must pass spending bills to keep federal agencies funded.

In early February, lawmakers approved a $1.2 trillion spending package to fund most of the federal government through September.

However, funding for the DHS – which oversees agencies including the TSA, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), was left out and was supposed to be voted on separately.

This is why the shutdown is affecting the TSA: The agency is part of DHS, so when DHS funding is blocked, TSA funding is blocked.

Democrats refused to support the DHS funding bill unless changes were made to immigration enforcement policies. Their demands included requiring immigration agents to clearly identify themselves and banning racial profiling.

These demands came after a federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis during which two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by federal agents, prompting national outrage and investigations.

Republicans rejected the proposed changes and also opposed a Democratic plan to pass partial DHS funding that would exclude immigration enforcement.

The dispute created a political deadlock in Congress, leading to the partial government shutdown that is now affecting TSA workers.

Why is ICE still operating despite the government shutdown?

Even though ICE is part of the DHS, it is not affected in the same way as TSA because ICE already received separate funding through a major spending law passed last year.

That law, known as Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, gave ICE and CBP billions of dollars in funding that does not expire for several years. This means the agencies can continue operating and paying staff even if DHS funding is blocked.

Why are ICE agents being deployed to US airports?

President Donald Trump announced the plan on Sunday, saying ICE agents could be sent to airports if lawmakers did not reach a funding agreement.

“If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again,” Trump wrote, “I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before.”

In a follow-up post hours later, Trump said he had decided to go ahead with the move and had told the agency to “get ready”. “I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday,” he wrote.

Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said ICE agents would be at airports to “help support” staff in “non-specialised security functions”.

But Trump said in social media posts over the weekend that ICE could detain undocumented immigrants at airports, and made specific references to Somali migrants, whom he has repeatedly singled out in recent months.

In an interview on Sunday with CNN, Tom Homan, President Trump’s chief border official, suggested that ICE agents would play a limited role in security operations.

“I don’t see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine, because they’re not trained in that,” he said. But an ICE agent could “cover an exit”, allowing TSA officers to focus on screening, he said.

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA officers, said in a statement that TSA members “deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be”.

Which airports have ICE agents?

The administration has not released a list, but agents were spotted at major airports.

According to The Associated Press news agency, ICE officers were observed patrolling terminals and standing near long security lines at:

• George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
• John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.
• Louis Armstrong International Airport near New Orleans.
• Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

According to a report by CNN, other airports also include:

• Chicago-O’Hare International Airport.
• Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
• Houston’s William P Hobby Airport.
• LaGuardia Airport (New York).
• Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
• Philadelphia International Airport.
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
• Pittsburgh International Airport.
• Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida).

What does this mean for travellers?

Unlike some recent immigration operations in US cities, where federal agents often wore face coverings, ICE officers deployed to airports were mostly unmasked on Monday.

Trump also said on Monday that he did not believe ICE officers deployed to airports needed to wear masks.

Long wait times continued at several major airports. In Atlanta, for example, passengers were still being told to arrive at least four hours before flights as security lines stretched through the terminal and even outside the building. ICE officers were seen patrolling terminals but were not checking IDs or interacting directly with passengers.

Donna Troupe, who was flying from Atlanta to Miami, said she did not take issue with ICE’s presence at the airport, but also was not sure how much they were needed. “When I’ve seen them, they’ve just been standing around talking,” she said.

Some travellers said the officers appeared to be helping monitor lines, while others questioned whether their presence was necessary or said it could make some passengers feel anxious.

Daniela Dominguez, another traveller in Atlanta who was headed to Miami, said she was concerned that for some, seeing ICE officers would be unnerving. “I bet a lot of people have a lot of anxiety coming to the airport,” Dominguez said.

Meanwhile, travel disruptions continued on the East Coast after a deadly runway collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night temporarily shut down the airport and forced flights to be diverted. Two pilots on an Air Canada flight were killed after the plane crashed into a fire truck on the runway.

What are the latest developments at DHS?

As the shutdown continues, the US Senate has confirmed Senator Markwayne Mullin as the new head of the DHS.

Lawmakers approved his nomination in a 54-45 vote, completing a fast-tracked confirmation process. Mullin, a businessman and former mixed martial arts fighter, supports President Donald Trump’s hardline stance on immigration. However, during his confirmation hearing, he signalled he may roll back some of the more aggressive measures, including a directive that allowed federal immigration officers to enter private homes or businesses without a judicial warrant.

Once sworn in, Mullin will oversee agencies responsible for immigration enforcement, border security and airport security – all of which are central to the current shutdown dispute.

Trump nominated Mullin earlier this month after removing former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem from the role.