ICE is set to assist TSA amidst a government shutdown, Pres. Trump said, but local impacts remain uncertain according to airport officials across Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n
TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 The Tampa International Airport said they have not received information and the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport said it won’t be impacted after President Donald Trump’s announcement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will assist the Transportation Security Administration<\/a> (TSA) at airports.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Trump said<\/a> via social media that beginning Monday, “ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents.”\u00a0<\/p>\n His measure is in response to the ongoing partial government shutdown. CBS News reports<\/a> that DHS has been shut down since Feb. 14. Lawmakers with the Democratic Party are insisting on reforms to immigration enforcement practices to fully reopen the department.<\/p>\n TSA officers currently are working without pay in airports across the country, including across the Tampa Bay area<\/a>.<\/p>\n 10 Tampa Bay News reached out to TPA, SRQ and the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE). TPA said it has not been notified about “changes to staffing procedures at TSA security screening checkpoints.” A spokesperson added, “TPA will monitor the situation in order to assist our federal partners in any way we can.”<\/p>\n SRQ said it won’t be impacted by the measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n PIE has yet to respond to our request for comment.<\/p>\n White House Border Czar Tom Homan confirmed in an interview with CNN that ICE will go into airports. Homan added that he is currently working on the “plan of execution.”<\/p>\n “ICE agents have received high-level training and the ICE agents are assigned to many of the airports across the country already,” Homan said during the interview.<\/p>\n It remains unclear when TSA agents will get paid for their work.<\/p>\n For TSA agents across the Tampa Bay<\/a>, the strain of a partial government shutdown is still very real. Just last week, union members were distributing food to officers in the area.<\/p>\n