Trump deploys ICE to airports as DHS shutdown enters week 6

President Trump announced on March 22, 2026, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would deploy to U.S. airports starting Monday to help manage crowds as TSA security lines stretched to four hours at major airports. White House border czar THTom Homan confirmed the deployment, saying ICE agents would cover exits and guard posts to free up TSA officers for their specialized screening duties.

The DHS partial shutdown, which entered its sixth week on March 22, has left Transportation Security Administration workers going without paychecks since early February. More than 11 percent of TSA workers called out sick on March 21, the highest absence rate since the shutdown started, forcing several airports to consolidate checkpoints and redirect passengers.

TSA transportation security officers complete at least 120 hours of specialized training before working airport checkpoints. That training includes 40 hours of classroom instruction and 60 or more hours of on-the-job practice focused on detecting explosives, identifying weapons, and operating X-ray and explosives trace detection equipment. ICE agents complete law enforcement training focused on immigration arrests, apprehension, and detention. They receive no training in aviation security screening.

Homan acknowledged that ICE agents aren't trained to operate X-ray machines, saying "I don't see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine because they're not trained in that." He said the goal was to move ICE agents to exits and entrance guard posts, allowing TSA screeners to concentrate on actual security screening lanes.

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said TSA officers "deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be." The union represents TSA workers and has opposed the deployment. Kelley said putting uncertified personnel into airport security zones endangers aviation security.

Atlanta Mayor ADAndre Dickens confirmed that ICE agents would deploy to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport by passenger count. The White House said federal personnel from Homeland Security Investigations and ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations would report directly to TSA for the assignment, a command arrangement that legal critics said had no precedent in federal law.

Trump said he won't negotiate a DHS funding deal unless Democrats agree to his SAVE America Act, a legislative package Democrats have rejected. That stance has made the TSA staffing crisis a deliberate pressure point in a broader policy fight over immigration and homeland security spending. Democrats have accused the administration of holding airport security hostage to extract policy concessions.

No law explicitly authorizes ICE to perform airport security screening or crowd management at civilian airports. ICE's statutory mandate under 6 U.S.C. 252 covers immigration enforcement, customs investigations, and removal of undocumented individuals. Deploying ICE in a non-immigration capacity at airports could expose the government to legal challenges about whether the agency was operating outside its authorized mission.

The TSA was created in November 2001 after the September 11 attacks specifically to provide a federalized, trained workforce to screen passengers and baggage at U.S. airports. Before TSA, screening was performed by private contractors with minimal training requirements. Congress replaced that system after the attacks exposed its failures. Kelley and Democratic lawmakers argued the deployment recreated that same vulnerability.