The Trump administration has so far not deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to South Florida’s two largest airports as part of federal efforts the president says are to alleviate passenger congestion across the country.
On Monday, both Miami International Airport and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport confirmed to the Miami Herald that they did not expect ICE agents to step in to assist Transportation Security Administration agents, who have not been paid since mid-February because of a partial government shutdown. In recent weeks, some TSA agents have called in sick or quit altogether, causing long lines at some airports during the busy spring break travel season.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said he would send ICE into airports to accommodate for TSA staffing shortages. The Department of Homeland Security was arranging to send ICE agents to 14 airports across the country, CNN reported Monday morning.
The only airport on that list in Florida is Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers, on the west coast. It served a record 11.1 million passengers in 2025. The Lee County Port Authority, which operates the airport, confirmed to the Herald that ICE was present at the airport Monday but referred other questions to Homeland Security.
Compared to Southwest Florida International, both the Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports see many more passengers annually: 55.3 million and 32.2 million in 2025, respectively.
Travelers navigate short TSA lines at Miami International Airport on Monday morning, March 23, 2026. The ongoing partial federal government shutdown has affected many airports around the United States, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
The Fort Myers airport is the second smallest of the 14 airports in terms of annual passenger volume, ahead of only Pittsburgh International Airport in Pennsylvania. Last summer, city council members in Fort Myers, under pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis, voted to have the city’s police department enter into an agreement with ICE to assist with immigration enforcement, after initially voting against it.
READ MORE: ‘Govern yourselves accordingly’: Florida goes after city that rejected ICE partnership
The nationwide deployments have raised questions about how the Trump administration selected where it would send ICE agents.
In an email to the Herald, Homeland Security said it would not confirm where it was sending ICE officers, citing operational security. But it did provide a list of call-out rates of TSA agents — referring to the percentage of agents calling off from work — across major airports for Sunday, suggesting the locations had been chosen based on absenteeism rates. Homeland Security said that over 3,450 TSA employees called out on Sunday, or 11.76% of the total workforce, the highest percentage yet during the ongoing shutdown.
TSA did not respond to questions from the Herald about how many employees had called out over the last seven days, including Sunday, at Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Southwest Florida International Airport.
A TSA agent stands guard at a security checkpoint at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Monday, March 23, 2026. Carline Jean South Florida Sun Sentinel
Passengers across the country have in recent weeks reported lengthy lines at airports, which have also dealt with flight delays and cancellations as a result of bad weather.
Republicans have blamed the airport chaos on Democrats, who assert they will not provide ICE with more funding for the Trump administration’s mass deportations.
“Because of the Democrat shutdown, President Trump is using every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hours-long lines at airports across the country — especially during this spring break and holiday season that is very important for many American families,” said Lauren Bis, acting assistant secretary for media relations for Homeland Security.
The Herald confirmed through airport representatives that ICE agents were present or expected at at least nine U.S. airports: Southwest Florida International; John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in the greater New York City area; Cleveland Hopkins in Ohio; the William P. Hobby Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston; Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; and Chicago O’Hare.
The Herald also reached out to the other airports where ICE has been reported to be on the ground, including Philadelphia International Airport, Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport. Attempts to reach representatives at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, were unsuccessful.
On the ground in Miami 
Travelers navigate short TSA lines at Miami International Airport on Monday morning, March 23, 2026. The ongoing partial federal government shutdown has affected many airports around the United States, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
The partial government shutdown has led to TSA agents having to work for free for the second time in under one year. Both Trump and the Democrats are blaming each other.
“Once again air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown,” said an open letter to Congress by Airlines for America, a lobbying group of airline executives.
As a result, many TSA agents have called it quits, and others have called in sick. DHS said that 366 TSA officers have left the force.
So far, South Florida airports have been spared the worst. Early last week, passengers at MIA reported to the Herald wait times as long as over an hour to get through TSA checkpoints. Yet those disruptions largely stemmed from bad weather on the East Coast and a high-volume of spring break travelers.
Both Miami and Fort Lauderdale’s airports have since stabilized and seem to have returned to normal.
Travelers moved through the two airports on Monday without any help from ICE agents.
A TSA agent directs passengers through a security checkpoint at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Monday, March 23, 2026. Carline Jean South Florida Sun Sentinel
During a visit by the Herald to MIA on Monday between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., the line at TSA Checkpoint 1 in Concourse D, home to American Airlines, flowed smoothly and without any bottlenecks. About 20 travelers passed through.
TSA Checkpoint 2, in the same concourse, had even fewer travelers. Like last week, TSA Checkpoint 3 in the North Terminal was the busiest, with about 110 people going through, but passengers were still flowing.
Travelers navigate short TSA lines at Miami International Airport on Monday morning, March 23, 2026. The ongoing partial federal government shutdown has affected many airports around the United States, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
TSA staffing has had some impact on MIA. TSA Checkpoint 4, next to KFC and Peet’s Coffee, continued to be temporarily closed due to staffing issues. It’s not been used for just over one week.
But that doesn’t seem to have increased terminal congestion. TSA Checkpoint 5, for example, on Monday was open and was flowing freely, with few travelers passing through.
On Friday, the most recent day with data, the average TSA wait time at MIA was between 1 minute and 31 minutes, according to airport spokesman Greg Chin.
Miami Herald staff writer Sofia Saric contributed to this report.
Miami Herald
Vinod Sreeharsha covers tourism trends in South Florida for the Miami Herald.
el Nuevo Herald
Syra Ortiz Blanes covers immigration for the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. Previously, she was the Puerto Rico and Spanish Caribbean reporter for the Heralds through Report for America.