President Trump is sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports starting Monday after hundreds of TSA workers quit during the ongoing DHS shutdown, border czar Tom Homan confirmed Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“This is about helping the men and women with TSA,” Homan told host Dana Bash. “They’ve lost several hundred employees; the lines are really slow because the shutdown. This is about helping TSA do their mission and get the American public through that airport as quick as they can while adhering to all the security guidelines and the protocols.”
Homan said ICE agents are well-trained in security and identification and will handle non-specialized roles, covering exits and performing general security functions. That frees TSA officers to focus on passenger screening and reduces the crushing wait times travelers are now experiencing.
The DHS shutdown has been in effect since February 14. TSA agents, along with FEMA and Coast Guard personnel, have gone without pay as Democrats refuse to fund the department. More than 300 TSA employees have already walked off the job.
The fallout is showing up in real time at the nation’s airports. On Friday, wait times at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, the busiest airport in the country, stretched beyond two hours during the morning rush. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston saw 90-minute lines with one checkpoint closed entirely. Social media video has captured lines spilling far past terminals in recent days.
Homan said ICE will not be manning X-ray machines, a job requiring specific training. Airports with the longest wait times will be prioritized first. He said final plans would be set by the end of Sunday.
Bash challenged the 24-hour timeline. “With respect, if you’re doing this in 24 hours, how well thought out could it possibly be again?”
Homan replied: “How much of a plan does it mean to guard an exit to make sure no one comes through that exit?”
Trump blasted Democrats on Truth Social Friday over the situation: “What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace. If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before! The Fascist Democrats will never protect America, but the Republicans will.”
Bash pressed Homan at the segment’s close whether ICE agents would also conduct immigration enforcement while at airports.
“We do immigration enforcement at airports all the time,” Homan said. “So it’s not going to change.”
