Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were spotted scanning passenger IDs at the end of a long security line at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Thursday.
Two of the three ICE officers The Post observed working the Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint in Terminal B were sporting “Enforcement and Removal Operations” patches, signifying they are part of the agency’s deportation unit.
“ICE is running the security!” one incredulous traveler was heard remarking after making it through the two-hour-long line.
President Trump deployed ICE to airports on Monday in an effort to assist beleaguered TSA screeners and ease crowded lines.
The agency has been suffering from staff shortages – resulting in hours-long lines – as many employees have refused to work without pay amid the 40-day-long Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.
Ahead of the ICE deployment, border czar Tom Homan explained that the federal law enforcement officers would not be doing jobs they aren’t trained for, like screening bags, but rather relieving TSA workers of more menial duties, like monitoring doors and hallways.
ICE agents have been spotted checking IDs at other airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, according to the New York Times.
Fliers at New York’s JFK Airport on Thursday complained about seeing ICE officers.
“I don’t want the ICE in here,” Kerri Michael, 54, told The Post that she arrived four hours before her flight because she heard “lines are ridiculous.”
Michael added: “They’re not trained for this job, and they shouldn’t be doing it, so I don’t want them anywhere around me.”
A DHS spokeswoman confirmed that ICE agents who received “standard TSA training curriculum” were “verifying identification using TSA. equipment and standard operating procedures.”
“The more support we have available, the more efficiently TSA can focus on their highly specialized screening roles to efficiently get airport security lines moving faster,” DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told the outlet.
President Trump announced Thursday that he was planning to sign an executive order forcing DHS to pay TSA employees during the shutdown.
“Because the Democrats have recklessly created a true National Crisis, I am using my authorities under the Law to protect our Great Country, as I always will do!” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“Therefore, I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump continued.
“It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it!”
TSA workers had been expecting to miss a third paycheck on Friday.
It’s unclear how long ICE will continue to assist TSA at airports.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin signaled that he expects Trump’s move to “end this chaos” at airports.
“I want to thank [Trump] for his leadership in finding a way to pay our TSA officers to end this chaos at our airports,” Mullin wrote on X. “These hours long lines and thousands of Americans missing their flights was caused solely by the Democrats reckless [DHS] shutdown.”
Mullin noted that many DHS frontline workers, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) employees, as well as members of the US Coast Guard, are still not being paid.
“The Democrats must stop playing political games with our national security, quit punishing our employees, and re-open DHS,” Mullin demanded.
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