ICE agents to help TSA agents at airports across the country
WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA) - President Donald trump says ICE agents will start backing up TSA agents Monday to help speed up airport security lines that have grown dramatically in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.
A growing number of TSA officers are calling out or quitting as they go without a paycheck.
It's not clear which airports will see ICE, though the president's border czar Tom Homan says they'll prioritize the longest lines first and ICE agents have been spotted at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport Monday morning.
Beginning Monday, at airports across the country, agents in a different uniform are set to greet travelers inching through crowded security lines.
"Oh I don't know, a couple thousand people long right now," said Joe Loveland, a traveler in Atlanta.
President Trump announced on social media saying ICE agents would come in to help TSA, with Homan saying they would take on tasks like securing exits and checking IDs.
"Well, ICE isn't trained on X rays, and to look at X rays, see if there's, you know, something dangerous is in that luggage. Well no kidding, and we're not going to be doing that," Homan shared.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy suggested otherwise.
"TSA agents are law enforcement, they know how to pat people down. They know how to run the X-ray machines, because they are, again, under Homeland Security with TSA," Secretary Duffy explained.
Homan said details were being worked out just Sunday as some travelers raise concerns.
"Anything to get things going," said Joe Smollen, a traveler out of Newark Airport.
"Putting ICE in there just, to me, elevates tensions unnecessarily," said Kirk, an Oakland resident.
Funding to the DHS has been cut off for more than a month, with Democrats pushing for changes to immigration enforcement operations.
DHS says more than 400 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, with thousands more calling out as they miss paychecks again.
"Checking accounts are all wiped out. We haven't recovered from the last two that we've had before," said Robert Mack, Chief Steward, American Federation of Government Employees 1260/TSA San Diego.
While the two political parties point fingers, the TSA and travelers are paying the price, with lines, like at an airport in New Orleans, snaking to the parking lot.
While Republicans blame Democrats for the funding stalemate, Democrats are pushing a separate bill to fund TSA and other agencies not related to immigration enforcement.
Adding to the uncertainty, Trump posted to social media again, pressing Republicans not to make a deal on DHS, unless Democrats agree to back the SAVE America Act, aimed at stiffening voter ID laws.
