Armed Immigration Officers Deployed to Major US Airports Amid Shutdown

Armed federal immigration officers in tactical gear have been deployed to major airports across the United States, patrolling terminals and standing near security checkpoints as part of President Donald Trump’s response to the partial government shutdown that has severely disrupted air travel nationwide.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were observed Monday at some of America’s busiest airports, including Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International, John F. Kennedy International in New York, Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, and Louis Armstrong International outside New Orleans. Officials at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International and Chicago’s O’Hare International also confirmed the presence of federal immigration agents.

The unusual deployment comes as hundreds of thousands of Department of Homeland Security employees, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, have been working without pay since Congress failed to renew DHS funding last month. The funding lapse began on February 14, when Democrats refused to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection without operational changes following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis.

While TSA agents continue to work without paychecks, ICE and other immigration enforcement personnel are still being paid—a consequence of Trump’s tax cuts legislation that became law last year. The financial strain has led to increasing numbers of TSA agents calling in sick or quitting altogether, creating staffing shortages that have forced some airports to close checkpoints and causing dramatic fluctuations in wait times for travelers.

According to DHS, nationwide TSA call-out rates reached 11.8% on Sunday—the highest during the shutdown—with over 3,450 officers missing work. More than 400 agents have quit their positions since the shutdown began.

“This latest threat of ICE invasion at the airports is another distraction from solutions that protect Americans,” declared a coalition of aviation unions, including the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The unions emphasized that TSA work “can’t simply be replaced” by federal immigration officers.

The Trump administration has provided few details about the specific roles these armed officers will play. The president suggested Sunday that federal immigration officers could guard exit lanes or check passenger IDs, and has since indicated he might deploy National Guard troops to airports if more personnel is needed.

“ICE and TSA have been working together so far very well,” Trump said Monday in Memphis. “Still, I would bring out the National Guard if more personnel is needed.”

Union leaders representing aviation workers have stressed that ICE officers lack the specialized training and expertise of TSA workers. Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA officers, stated that his members “deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.”

While federal law enforcement officers are commonly present at international airports—with Customs and Border Protection screening arriving passengers and Homeland Security Investigations conducting criminal inquiries—immigration agents are rarely seen at TSA checkpoints, which serve as the primary security screening for domestic air travel.

The presence of armed ICE agents has prompted mixed reactions from travelers. At Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, where passengers are being urged to arrive four hours before both domestic and international flights, Donna Troupe questioned their effectiveness: “When I’ve seen them, they’ve just been standing around talking.” Fellow traveler Daniela Dominguez expressed concern that “a lot of people have a lot of anxiety coming to the airport” due to ICE’s presence.

The budget stalemate in Washington shows no signs of resolution. Over the weekend, Trump rejected the latest proposal from his own Republican Party after White House staff suggested funding the Department of Homeland Security except for the immigration operations at the center of the dispute. Instead, Trump escalated his demands, insisting that senators approve the SAVE America Act—a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill with virtually no chance of passage in Congress.

On Monday, the White House also declined a request from Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democratic negotiator, to continue budget talks. Democrats maintain their demands for substantial changes to federal immigration operations, including requiring ICE officers to obtain warrants before forcibly entering homes, prohibiting officers from wearing masks, and mandating clear identifying information on uniforms.

Air travelers on the East Coast faced additional disruptions after a Sunday night collision on the runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport that killed two people and injured dozens of others, temporarily shutting down the facility and diverting air traffic.

As the political standoff continues with no resolution in sight, aviation unions have called for TSA workers to be paid immediately, highlighting growing concerns about both the financial welfare of federal employees and the operational integrity of the nation’s aviation security system.