{"id":540818,"date":"2026-03-23T17:43:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/540818\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T17:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:43:09","slug":"ice-seen-at-atlanta-airport-amid-partial-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/540818\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE seen at Atlanta airport amid partial shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 More federal immigration officers are making their way to U.S. airports after President Donald Trump said he\u2019d deploy them to supplement<\/a> the Transportation Security Administration during a government shutdown that has caused long lines at security checkpoints across the country.<\/p>\n

On Monday morning, Associated Press journalists saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers patrolling terminals and standing watch beside long lines of passengers at Hartsfield\u2013Jackson Atlanta International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Louis Armstrong International Airport outside New Orleans.<\/p>\n

Federal officers are a routine presence at international airports, where Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving travelers and Homeland Security Investigations agents handle criminal cases. But what\u2019s unusual in the current moment is their visibility at TSA security checkpoints.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Federal<\/p>\n

Federal immigration agents are seen at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)<\/p>\n

Federal immigration agents are seen at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)<\/p>\n

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Fears that the deployments will heighten tension<\/p>\n

Some fear the move to deploy federal immigration agents will only escalate tensions. Union leaders representing aviation workers stressed that ICE officers don\u2019t have the same training and expertise as TSA workers \u2014 and the presence of federal immigration officers could also put some travelers on edge.<\/p>\n

At Atlanta\u2019s airport, ICE officers wearing tactical vests carried handguns holstered on their hips. At least one had what appeared to be a short-barreled, assault-style rifle slung across his chest.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Federal<\/p>\n

Federal immigration agents are seen at Newark Liberty International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo\/Angelina Katsanis)<\/p>\n

Federal immigration agents are seen at Newark Liberty International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo\/Angelina Katsanis)<\/p>\n

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Whether ICE will have a more sweeping role beyond watching long lines and patrolling terminals has yet to be seen. On Sunday, Trump said federal immigration officers could assist TSA by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs. The administration signaled the deployments would be limited to large airports with the longest wait times.<\/p>\n

Still, long wait times and some closed checkpoints persisted at some major hubs Monday. Atlanta\u2019s Hartsfield\u2013Jackson, for example, was still urging passengers to allow at least four hours for both domestic and international screenings. And in Houston, George Bush Intercontinental outlined screening times between two and a half and four hours at its two checkpoints that remained open.<\/p>\n

TSA workers have been going without pay<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s deployments of ICE agents came as hundreds of thousands of Homeland Security workers<\/a>, including from the TSA, have worked without pay<\/a> since Congress failed to renew DHS funding<\/a> last month. That\u2019s led many TSA agents to call in sick \u2014 or even quit their jobs<\/a> \u2014 as financial strains pile up. The staffing shortages<\/a> have forced some airports to close checkpoints at times, with wait times swinging dramatically<\/a> for travelers.<\/p>\n

TSA callout rates climbed over the weekend. Nationwide on Sunday, 11.8% of TSA agents missed work \u2014 the highest rate of the shutdown so far \u2014 with more than 3,450 officers calling out, according to DHS. More than 400 officers have quit during the shutdown, the department said.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration announced over the weekend that it would be deploying federal immigration officers at TSA checkpoints, unless Democrats agreed to fund the DHS. Funding for the department lapsed Feb. 14, as Democrats refused to fund ICE as well as Customs and Border Protection without changes to their operations in the wake of the deaths of Alex Pretti<\/a> and Renee Good<\/a> in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

The ongoing budget fight<\/p>\n

Democrats are continuing to demand major changes<\/a> to federal immigration operations \u2014 including policy changes that would require ICE officers to get a warrant from a judge before forcefully entering homes, the removal of masks and clear identifying information on uniforms.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A federal immigration agent stands amid air travelers to assist with security across the lines of people waiting to progress through the TSA checkpoint in Terminal C at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo\/Michael Wyke)<\/p>\n

A federal immigration agent stands amid air travelers to assist with security across the lines of people waiting to progress through the TSA checkpoint in Terminal C at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo\/Michael Wyke)<\/p>\n

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Trump on Monday directed ICE officers not to wear face coverings in their work at airports. In a social media post, Trump said he supports ICE officers wearing masks when dealing with \u201chardened criminals\u201d but suggested it isn\u2019t necessary \u201cwhen helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, critics have accused the government of using TSA workers as pawns in the ongoing budget fight. And some aviation unions have raised additional safety concerns in light of the Trump administration\u2019s deployment of federal immigration officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis latest threat of ICE invasion at the airports is another distraction from solutions that protect Americans,\u201d a coalition of unions representing aviation workers \u2014 including the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers \u2014 said in a Sunday statement. Transportation security officers \u201ccan\u2019t simply be replaced\u201d by federal immigration officers, they noted, adding that ICE\u2019s presence and potential attempts to question passengers about immigration status may also \u201cdistract them from ensuring airport security.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unions called for TSA workers to be paid immediately \u2014 noting that, in contrast, ICE officers are among DHS workers who have continued to see paychecks as the partial shutdown drags on.<\/p>\n

While routine funding that is used to pay TSA agents has lapsed, ICE and other immigration enforcement operations are funded with personnel receiving paychecks thanks to Trump\u2019s big tax cuts bill that became law last year. It ballooned the DHS budget for immigration detention and deportation by billions.<\/p>\n

Beyond TSA operations, New York\u2019s LaGuardia Airport shut down following a deadly collision<\/a> on the runway late Sunday. An Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck<\/a> while landing, officials said \u2014 killing the pilot and copilot while around 40 passengers and crew members were taken to area hospitals, some with serious injuries.<\/p>\n

According to the FAA, LaGuardia is expected to remain closed until at least 2 p.m. ET on Monday. Air traffic has been diverted, and Monday morning operations also were halted at Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring New Jersey.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press journalists Emilie Megnien and Mike Stewart in Atlanta; Stephen Smith in New Orleans; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Tia Goldenberg and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 More federal immigration officers are making their way to U.S. airports after President Donald…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[9178,57976,14183,203372,23,1927,5786,14184,28,12,9092,793,681,7095,790,1931,196794,6377,1997,3,111,191965,14182,9293,6148,795,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-540818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-aerospace-and-defense-industry","tag-air-canada","tag-airport-security","tag-alex-pretti","tag-america","tag-ap-top-news","tag-atlanta","tag-aviation-safety","tag-business","tag-donald-trump","tag-ga-state-wire","tag-general-news","tag-georgia","tag-houston","tag-immigration","tag-jobs-and-careers","tag-minnesota-ice-crackdown","tag-national","tag-new-jersey","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-renee-good","tag-transportation-security-administration","tag-u-s-government-shutdown","tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}