New York politicians and immigration advocates reacted to President Donald Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan stating that ICE agents will assist the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) starting Monday as human congestion at airports continues to swell.
In an on-air interview with CNN, Homan confirmed that Trump’s command to send ICE to American airports amid the partial government shutdown in order to aid a diminished TSA was not an empty threat, in fact, it is the plan. He stated that while the immigration officers will not be performing screenings, such as using X-ray machines, they will be used as security.
“We do immigration enforcement at airports all the time. So it’s not going to change,” Homan said.
This comes as images of ballooning lines of travelers flood news outlets and social media, while TSA workers struggle to handle the number of flyers. Amid a government funding gridlock that is leaving TSA and customs workers unpaid until a budget is passed, as many as 10% of workers called in sick on Friday alone, up from a typical 2%, the transportation agency said.
Even so, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees Everett Kelley, who heads the TSA union, condemned the decision to supplement those he represents with ICE, calling it “dangerous.”
“More than 50,000 TSA employees have worked without pay for over five weeks. Hundreds have quit. And Washington’s answer isn’t to pay them. It’s to send ICE agents to do their jobs,” Kelley said. “Our members at TSA have been showing up every day, without a paycheck, because they believe in the mission of keeping the flying public safe. They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.”
Meanwhile, in the Big Apple, as ICE appointments at airports loomed, the Port Authority said it would monitor the situation closely and expected the deployed agents to be appropriately trained.
“The Port Authority continues to closely monitor staffing impacts at TSA checkpoints that are contributing to extended wait times at our airports. Decisions regarding the deployment and use of federal personnel resources, including ICE officers, rest with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Port Authority expects that any such personnel assigned to assist with passenger processing functions will be appropriately trained and focused on supporting screening operations, consistent with maintaining the safety, integrity, and efficiency of the security process at our airports and protecting the flying public,” a spokesperson said.
New York immigration advocates fume over ICE escalation
Father Fabian Aries, who works out of Saint Peter’s Church in Midtown to help those detained by ICE, told amNewYork that he is not surprised by Trump’s plan, believing it is yet another way to instill fear.
“We are operating within the context of a fascist administration—where, specifically, persecution —and fundamentally, the disregard for the constitutional rights of the people living on this land—is the norm,” Aries said. “These systems at airport ports of entry remain an integral part of this plan. A plan aimed specifically at instilling fear and panic.”
Several New York elected officials also spoke to amNewYork, predicting disastrous outcomes from this implementation on both economic and human levels.
A masked ICE agent sits inside 26 Federal Plaza.Photo by Dean Moses
“I know we’re going to see that impact our economy very deeply, but most importantly, the human impact that will it will continue to have where even folks who have documentation will stay in their homes, even folks like myself who are U.S. citizens will probably refuse to travel because we do not want to interact with an agency that we consider dangerous,” Assembly Member Diana Moreno said. “We already have seen this agency murder. I would say murder, not just people in the streets, but through neglect. Over a dozen people this year have died in detention.”
These comments came during an unrelated rally during which demonstrators called on the passage of several bills to strengthen the rights of immigrants, including the New York for All Act. Even as the protesters looked to stop local law enforcement collaboration with ICE and raged over the deaths that have taken place in their custody, the shadow of further escalation loomed large.
After the rally, City Council Member Alexa Avilés, who also chairs the Council’s Committee on Immigration, spoke to amNewYork on the TSA development.
“When I think this administration is not going to go to a new low, they just, they go to a new low, having ICE agents at TSA or at any port of entry to replace workers and just grow the dragnet to harm people is disgusting. I’m not surprised but my message again is we are going to fight for our people and fight to make sure that they don’t get caught in this dragnet of harm and cruelty that Trump continues to spew across the country,” Avilés said. “This is a rogue agency that doesn’t follow laws, that likes to beat up on people.”
amNewYork reached out to the governor’s office and the mayor’s office for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
As New York elected officials denounced the move by the Trump Administration, Vice President JD Vance accused Democrats of holding DHS funding hostage.
“We’ve all seen the chaos unleashed by Democrats at airports across the country. It’s preposterous that Chuck Schumer continues to hold TSA funding hostage,” Vance wrote on X. “Thankfully, ICE will bring sanity to our airports starting tomorrow, but it’s far past time for Democrats to fund DHS.”
Senator Chuck Schumer quipped back in his own social media post.
“Untrained ICE agents lurking at our airports is asking for trouble. And it will make the chaos at our airports worse,”
Schumer wrote on X.
Additional reporting by Barbara Russo and Florencia Arozarena
Senator Chuck Schumer.Photo by Dean Moses