ICE officers seen at multiple airports

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were spotted on Monday at numerous airports throughout the country after President Trump announced this weekend he would deploy them to assist with travel chaos stemming from the partial government shutdown. 

Videos of ICE officers at airports quickly began circulating on social media. The Associated Press reported spotting federal immigration officers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

CBS News reported ICE agents photographed at John F. Kennedy International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. CBS Pittsburgh reported that officers were also expected to arrive at Pittsburgh International Airport on Monday. 

Online reports also spotted the ICE officers at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Reuters reported that ICE and Homeland Security Investigations officers were slated to be deployed at 14 large airports including New Orleans, Cleveland, Phoenix, Fort Myers and New York LaGuardia, which was temporarily closed on Monday after an Air Canada crash killed two pilots.

President Trump announced Sunday on Truth Social that “ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job,” adding, “THEY WILL DO A FANTASTIC JOB. The great Tom Homan is in charge!!!”

Border czar Tom Homan said in a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he was “working on the plan” with acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill and that they would “have a plan by the end of today.”

He added, however, that he did not expect ICE officers to be directly involved in security screening measures at airports.

“Wherever we can provide extra security, I don’t see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine because we’re not trained in that,” Homan said. “But there are certain parts of security that TSA is doing that we can move them off those jobs, and put them in the specialized jobs to help move those lines.”

Homan told host Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” that ICE officers would relieve TSA officers from duties like guarding exits, so they can focus on screening passengers. 

Questions lingered on Sunday about the extent of ICE agents’ purview at airports, after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared to contradict Homan’s remarks, telling ABC News that ICE officers would assist in security screening operations at airports.

“They run those same type of security machines at the southern border, right?” Duffy said Sunday. “Packages come through or people come through. They run similar assets.”

“We have ICE agents who are trained and can provide assistance to agents,” he continued, noting the officers will also seek to assist with lines.

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