Some local officials are objecting to the Trump administration’s announcement that ICE agents will begin handling some security duties at San Diego International Airport and other U.S. airports on Monday amid an ongoing partial government shutdown.

“I have no idea how they can contribute at an airport unless it was for intimidation purposes,” Aaron Vazquez, a TSA lead transportation security officer at SAN and assistant airport steward for the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1260 in San Diego, told City News Service on Sunday. “What are they going to do, find somebody and shoot them?”

Federal officials said Sunday that border czar Tom Homan would be in charge of the effort to use immigration enforcement personnel to supplement security at airports amid the shutdown, which has left roughly 50,000 TSA employees working without pay, contributing to increased absenteeism and staffing shortages at airports nationwide.

Vazquez said his job is to make sure travelers are not a threat to security, which has nothing to do with immigration enforcement.

“I don’t want them anywhere near the checkpoint and officers that I’m in charge of. I don’t want them interfering with what the officers are trying to do,” Vazquez told CNS.

“I don’t need an ICE agent telling passengers what to do. We are trained to be nice to passengers. They are law enforcement so they are armed. TSA is not,” he added.

City Councilwoman and Airport Authority Board Member Marni von Wilpert also balked at the idea.

“ICE’s aggressive, abusive conduct makes us less safe. Putting ICE in our airports will make travel more chaotic, more stressful, and less secure — not better,” she said. “ICE has already shown it refuses to follow the law and respect our communities — so I’m deeply concerned about what this deployment will mean for San Diego travelers and the thousands of workers at San Diego International Airport.

“… The solution to long security lines and airport delays is simple: Congress needs to properly fund and staff TSA now,” von Wilpert added.

“.. I have been in touch with San Diego Airport Authority staff and legal counsel. We do not yet know the full scope of ICE’s plans at the airport, but we are working to get answers and minimize disruption and anxiety for travelers and our workforce.”

Rep. Scott Peters, D-Poway, posted a photo of long lines at the airport on Sunday with the following message:

“View from the San Diego airport at 6:30 this morning. It doesn’t have to be like this. I have a bill to pay TSA workers, Coast Guard and emergency management without adding more to ICE and Border Patrol. Easy, right? But Trump won’t allow it. As the DHS shutdown drags into nearly 40 days, federal workers and travelers shouldn’t have to suffer from Republican inaction.”