Trump is sending ICE agents to fix airport security lines, but the union representing unpaid TSA workers has a blistering response

The Trump administration has announced that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be deployed to airports to help manage long security lines. Travelers have been facing hours-long waits at security checkpoints due to the ongoing partial government shutdown. President Donald Trump confirmed the move on Truth Social, saying, “On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job.”

According to the BBC, Border Tsar Tom Homan clarified that ICE agents will not be screening passengers directly. Instead, they will cover entry and exit points so that trained TSA agents can focus on screenings. Homan said this “relieves that TSA officer to go to screening and to reduce those lines.” He is still working out the details, including how many agents will be involved, but expects the plan to be finalized before Monday.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said ICE agents have relevant experience, noting they run “the same type of security machines at the southern border” for packages and people. A DHS spokesperson said President Trump “is using every tool available” to help travelers, adding that he would “deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted.”

TSA workers have been showing up without pay, and their union is pushing back hard

The long lines are a direct result of the partial government shutdown, which has left the DHS without funding since mid-February. TSA officers have been working without pay for over a month, leading to a sharp rise in absences. The White House said more than 400 agents have quit since the shutdown began. This comes amid wider turbulence in TSA policy, including reports that officials had quietly planned to eliminate TSA PreCheck before the White House stepped in to shut it down.

The union representing TSA workers, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), strongly opposed the move. AFGE president Everett Kelley said staff “deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents.” He added, “Our members at TSA have been showing up every day, without a paycheck, because they believe in the mission of keeping the flying public safe.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also spoke out against the deployment on Sunday, calling it “the last thing that the American people need.” Jeffries said, “These are untrained individuals when it comes to doing the current job that they have, for the most part – let alone deploying them in close exposure and highly sensitive situations at airports across the country.”

Democrats have also been pushing for reforms to ICE following the deaths of two Minneapolis residents, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were killed by federal agents during protests against immigration raids in January.

They have asked DHS to stop immigration agents from wearing face masks, provide better identification for officers, and tighten rules for obtaining warrants. The administration has also faced criticism over a short-lived travel threat that vanished within hours of being announced. A bill aimed at funding the DHS and paying TSA agents failed to pass the Senate on Friday, leaving the funding issue unresolved and the situation at airports without a clear fix.