PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Travelers across the country are reacting to President Trump’s announcement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will begin assisting airport security operations on Monday as the Transportation Security Administration continues to struggle with staffing shortages during the partial government shutdown.
At Philadelphia International Airport, lines have been long in the early morning hours but remained manageable at other times of the day despite the temporary closure of three security checkpoints. But nationwide, long waits have prompted the administration to look for additional personnel.
Some travelers welcomed the move. “I’m okay with that. It’s a mess in a lot of places. I’ve seen the stories so yeah, anything to help,” said Joel Jenkins of Georgia.
Others expressed concern about the involvement of immigration authorities. “Honestly, I don’t really care for ICE helping them too much, but I just really feel bad for the TSA agents. They do need help right now, they’re not really getting paid,” said Sean Walsh of Oxford.
Trump said ICE agents will not only support TSA staff but will also conduct immigration enforcement as part of their deployment.
That announcement unsettled some passengers. “I think that just makes people scared and stressed and frightened,” said Regan Sanders of Alabama.
But Jack Spitale of Boston viewed the move as a potential catalyst for ending the shutdown. “I think it’s frankly a great idea and I think it’ll motivate the Democrats to finally go ahead and vote for funding for DHS. How long has this been now, three weeks? These guys aren’t getting paid,” he said.
The shutdown has directly affected the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA. Lawmakers worked through the weekend in search of a deal but failed to reach one.
As TSA employees continue to miss paychecks, callout rates have climbed. Nationwide, 10% of agents did not report to work on Friday, the highest rate so far. At Philadelphia International Airport, more than 22% of TSA workers called out that day. More than 400 TSA employees nationwide have quit since the shutdown began.
White House border czar Tom Homan said the ICE deployment would help free up TSA agents to do tasks that only they can do.
“We’re simply there to help TSA do their job in areas that don’t– don’t need their specialized expertise, such as, you know, screening through the x-ray machine, not trained on that, we won’t do that. But there are roles we can play to release TSA officers from the non-significant role, such as guarding an exit, so they can get back to the scanning machines and move people quicker,” Homan said.
It remains unclear how ICE’s deployment will be implemented or which airports will receive additional personnel. A spokesperson for Philadelphia International Airport referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security.
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