What the Hell Is Going on in America’s Airports?

By Ryan Bort

Ryan Bort

America’s airports are a mess. You’ve probably seen videos of hourslong security lines snaking interminably through lobbies, and even into parking lots. The Transportation Security Administration has been pushed to extremes as Congress withholds funding for the Department of Homeland Security, and Republicans continue to insist that federal immigration agents should be able to run rampant with little oversight. Now, Donald Trump has deployed those same federal immigration agents to airports. Republican leaders are currently trying to get the president to agree to a deal to resolve the Department of Homeland Security shutdown and get TSA agents paid, but until that happens, air travel will likely remain in a state of chaos.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Why are the security lines so long at airports?

The lines are long because TSA is understaffed and can’t screen people as quickly as they usually do (not that TSA has ever been a model of efficiency, but that’s beside the point). Congress is currently holding up funding for DHS, which oversees TSA, amid a dispute over Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) brutal, deadly, arguably unconstitutional crackdowns. TSA is understaffed because without a congressionally-approved spending budget, they’re no longer able to pay agents, and many of them have refused to work until they can get a paycheck. Democrats are blocking DHS funding until Republicans agree to impose restrictions on the administration’s immigration crackdowns — including requirements that ICE agents obtain judicial warrants before entering homes, and that they don’t wear masks while on the job. Republicans have refused to comply.

Why has Trump deployed ICE to airports?

Trump wrote on social media Saturday that on Monday, ICE agents “will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job” and that they “will do Security like no one has ever seen before.” One of the many problems here is that ICE agents aren’t very well trained to do the work of ICE agents, much less to do the work of TSA agents.

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Tom Homan, Trump’s immigration czar, went on TV Sunday to assure Americans that everything will be fine. “Certainly a highly trained ICE law enforcement officer can cover an exit,” he told CNN. “Make sure people don’t go through those exits, enter an airport through the exits and stuff like that, [which] relieves that TSA officer to go do screenings and to reduce those lines.”

It’s reasonable to wonder, given how quickly the deployment took place, what kind of training and direction ICE agents were given in their new role as airport crowd controllers. Probably not a ton, which may lead to problems in an environment packed with frustrated, irritable travelers.

Which airports has ICE been deployed to?

CNN reported on Monday that ICE agents are being sent to 13 airports:

• Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
• New York’ John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
• Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico (SJU)
• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
• Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
• Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW)

Will ICE be conducting immigration crackdowns at airports now?

Tom Homan said on Sunday that “federal officials have indicated that this deployment is not intended to conduct immigration enforcement activities” — but that doesn’t mean they won’t actually be conducting such activities. Trump wrote over the weekend that they would indeed be making arrests, ​​”with heavy emphasis on Somalia.” When asked point blank on Monday if ICE would be making immigration arrests at airports, Trump said yes, adding that ICE is going to “love it” because they’re going to be “able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country.”

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Homan emphasized on Monday that ICE isn’t just there to point air travelers to the exits. “They’re doing a security function at the airports,” he told Fox News. “We’re going to arrest criminals. We’re going to look for human trafficking, sex trafficking, money smuggling.”

How has it been going so far?

The Washington Post reported Tuesday night that ICE agents haven’t exactly worked wonders in reducing wait times at airports, with passengers reporting lines up to five hours long in Houston, despite agents being deployed to Hobby Airport.

The Post and other outlets report that ICE agents mostly seem to just be standing around, with officials insisting they are doing “nonspecialized” security support, including monitoring lines and crowd control. “Those guys are really getting paid to do nothing,” a man interviewed by the Post said. “That is what this is all about. They are not finding … illegal people here.” Another said: “If their purpose is to help, they’re not doing it. They’re not doing anything.” To add insult to performative ineffectiveness, ICE agents are getting paid to mostly loiter and sip coffee while TSA agents do the actual job, sans paycheck.

Wait, why are ICE agents still getting paid if TSA agents are out of a paycheck?

Yes, ICE and TSA are both under DHS, which is not currently being funded. ICE agents are still getting paid because the so-called Big Beautiful Bill — the legislation Trump and Republicans passed last year gutting Medicaid, food assistance, and other social services — set aside $75 billion in funding for ICE through 2029, money that the agency is now entitled to by law, regardless of whether DHS is funded.

What is Congress saying?

Democrats are calling out Republicans for holding up TSA funding, and expressing concern over ICE agents in airports. “We have already seen how ICE conducts itself,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said. “These are untrained individuals when it comes to doing the current job they have, for the most part, let alone deploying them in close proximity in highly sensitive situations at airports across the country.”

Republicans are of course blaming Democrats, while treating the ICE deployment as a troll job. “I’m glad the president has put ICE in there for a multitude of reasons. It’ll drive the Democrats crazy,” House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told Fox Business. Trump said as much on Monday. “That’s why the Democrats are going crazy,” he told reporters when asked if ICE will be arresting migrants at airports.

Congress may soon be feeling the effects of the standoff themselves. Delta announced this week that it is suspending standalone service for members of Congress, which allows lawmakers to skip security lines, until the TSA is fully funded.

What’s next?

Trump rejected a deal put together by Republican senators that would fund DHS, with Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) telling Fox News that the president responded, “‘No, no deals with the Democrats,’ so we’re back to square one.”

Politico reported Monday night that GOP leadership seems to have found another solution to the problem, adding on Tuesday morning that the White House finds the deal “acceptable.” Trump has yet to weigh in himself, though. “I talked to [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune last night and he says the president has reconsidered and may be on board,” Kennedy said Tuesday morning.

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