Federal immigration officers were observed at several U.S. airports on Monday following the Trump administration’s decision to deploy ICE agents to help ease security lines amid a partial government shutdown.
The shutdown, beginning February 14, has caused long lines at airport security checkpoints, usually managed by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents. Since the shutdown, hundreds of thousands of Department of Homeland Security agents, including TSA, have been working without pay due to Congress’s failure to pass new funding.
Democrats are advocating for changes in federal immigration operations following reports of agent misconduct, including the killing of two U.S. citizens earlier this year.
Recently, travelers have recorded lines with wait times estimated at several hours. Trump border czar Tom Homan told CNN that ICE agents would start deployment on Monday to airports with the longest wait times. Homan stated that the details of the plan are still being discussed.
Critics argue that the presence of ICE agents at airports could heighten tensions with travelers.
Federal agents were reported to have made an arrest at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday night. A video on TikTok shows unidentified agents refusing to identify themselves while detaining a person, including a child, past a security line at a terminal gate. Another video on Reddit shows the detainment from another angle. TechCrunch has reached out to the poster.
A spokesperson for ICE did not immediately provide a comment on the arrest.
According to the Associated Press, ICE agents have also been noted at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The Guardian reported ICE presence at airports in Newark, New Orleans, and New York’s John F. Kennedy. CNN reported that ICE has been deployed to airports in Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Phoenix, and San Juan.
ICE is known to use a variety of tools for identifying and targeting individuals, including facial recognition apps and phone-unlocking technology for accessing devices. ICE agents also use location data from phone apps and games to monitor people’s locations.
If you’ve traveled through a U.S. airport and interacted with ICE instead of (or in addition to) TSA, contact Zack Whittaker via Signal at zackwhittaker.1337. Email him at [email protected].