Washington – U.S. immigration agents began deploying at more than a dozen airports to assist in security screenings, as unpaid airport security staffing shortages have caused massive delays.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it had begun deploying hundreds of agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to support airport security in terminals facing significant staffing problems.
According to official sources and posts on social media, ICE agents and Homeland Security Investigations were being deployed at about 14 airports, including Atlanta; New York (JFK and LaGuardia); Newark; New Orleans; Cleveland; Pittsburgh; Phoenix and Fort Myers.
Separately, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the busiest in the United States, advised passengers to arrive at least four hours before their flights on Monday.
On social media, posts could be seen of ICE agents alongside Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, who were checking IDs.
Authorities said that ICE would help the TSA “to do its job in areas that do not require specialized knowledge,” such as monitoring an exit, managing queues, or crowd control.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens clarified that federal officials had informed him that this deployment “is not intended to carry out immigration enforcement activities.”
However, the measure has drawn criticism from opposition politicians such as Mikie Sherrill, the governor of New Jersey, who said that sending agents “without training is not an acceptable solution.”
The leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, described as “unacceptable” that “workers and travelers are being held hostage by political games.” TSA officials have not been paid since February due to the budget paralysis.
The Senate rejected, for the fifth time since February, funding the DHS, which has been in partial shutdown for five weeks and on which the TSA and immigration agencies depend.
The suspension of TSA workers’ pay has led many to take leaves or have been laid off, causing extremely long lines at major airports.
