WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been deployed to select airports across the country, where they are meant to help mitigate long lines fueled by staffing shortfalls caused by a partial government shutdown.
But ICE officers are not trained in aviation safety and their central role in President Donald Trump's contentious immigration enforcement agenda is raising questions about how effective their assistance might be
in easing wait times — and whether it could stoke tensions with travelers.
The government has given few details on what immigration officers will do and Trump has suggested that airports were “fertile ground” for immigration enforcement, although he said ICE was only there to help.
ICE officers on Monday were seen standing near security lines and checkpoints and so far were not screening passengers. Long wait times continued at some airports.
Analysts who follow the industry say there are limits to how much ICE can really assist.
Substituting ICE for Transportation Security Administration workers is an imperfect solution for an increasingly dire travel situation, said Keith Jeffries, a former head of TSA security at Los Angeles International Airport.
“Can they do some of the duties? Perhaps,” said Jeffries, who is now a vice president at K2 Security Screening, which installs airport equipment.
“There is just zero chance for them to be operating X-rays, conducting bag checks and pat-downs," said Jeffries, saying that TSA agents receive lengthy classroom training in security screening procedures, followed by “weeks or months” of on-the-job training.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan on Sunday said immigration officers could staff exit lanes, freeing up some TSA agents to work security.
Zach Griff, author of the travel industry blog “From the Tray Table,” said he was “encouraged” by the potential of using ICE officers to assist TSA although he stressed that he didn’t see their deployment as a real solution to the problems at airports.
Like Jeffries, he stressed that it’s much harder to integrate ICE officers or anyone else into baggage screening, which is the core of what TSA agents do.
“That is a specialized training process that the TSA goes through with all of its agents. That’s not something that they can just kind of spin up,” Griff said.
ICE officers receive specialized training of their own that has little to do with airport security.
ICE includes Homeland Security Investigations agents and deportation officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations. Both receive basic training in areas like firearms and driving, but deportation officers focus on immigration law, while HSI agents train for longer, complex criminal investigations, and some work within airports.
ICE officers and their tactics, including aggressive arrest sweeps and the expansion of certain powers to make arrests, have come under fierce scrutiny since the Trump administration launched immigration crackdowns in multiple cities last year.
ICE officers could help provide crowd control for the mammoth security lines that in recent days have wound around airport terminals and spilled outside buildings, said Jeffries.
But ICE's presence, Jeffries noted, could invite protesters who have sometimes dogged their enforcement actions, which could pull even more airport security resources away from passenger screening. Notably, on Sunday, Lauren Bis of the Department of Homeland Security cited security reasons for declining to disclose which airports would have ICE officers the next day.
Bringing ICE officers, who are typically armed, into the airport at a time when tensions are high over immigration enforcement might not sit well with a lot of people, Griff noted.
“There are going to be people who are going to be uncomfortable seeing ICE agents at the airport,” said Griff.
Trump on Monday suggested there could be immigration arrests at airports, which he called “fertile territory” for ICE's operations. But, he added, "that’s not why they’re there, they’re really there to help.”
Trump also waded into a central issue fueling the funding battle in Congress — masks worn by ICE officers. In a social media post Monday, Trump said he supports officers wearing masks when arresting “hardened criminals,” but said he would “greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS” when helping alleviate problems at the airports.
Masks worn by ICE officers have become a flashpoint of controversy in the immigration debate. Critics say masks allow ICE officers to hide from accountability if they violate people's rights. ICE's leadership says they are necessary to protect the officers from doxxing.
Among other demands, Democrats want ICE officers to be barred from wearing masks before they agree to fund the Department of Homeland Security, what would restore payment for TSA workers.
Democrats have raised concerns about deploying ICE to airports.
“Everywhere ICE goes, trouble follows,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “We’ve seen that, and it is highly likely the airports will be no exception. No one trusts that ICE is going to make things better.”
Jeffries, the former head of TSA security at Los Angeles Airport, said the only long-term solution is to break the congressional impasse and get DHS fully funded again.
“There is no substitute — and I don't even think ICE would disagree with that,” he said.
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Associated Press reporter Kevin Freking contributed.
