Summary
President Trump announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be deployed to U.S. airports starting Monday to assist TSA officers, who have been working without pay during a partial Homeland Security shutdown. The plan is to have ICE agents help with tasks like guarding exit lanes and checking IDs, but they will not operate X-ray machines. Details such as which airports and the number of agents involved have not been provided.
Key Facts
- President Trump will send ICE agents to assist at U.S. airports due to a partial Homeland Security shutdown.
- ICE agents will help TSA officers by guarding exit lanes and checking IDs.
- The deployment does not include ICE agents operating X-ray machines.
- The specific airports and number of agents involved have not been disclosed.
- Training for TSA officers usually takes four to six months, which ICE agents have not completed.
- President Trump mentioned a focus on arresting undocumented immigrants, especially those from Somalia, at airports.
- The initiative follows political disagreements causing significant airport backlog.
- Democrats and Republicans are at a standstill over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
