Homan, in news appearances Sunday, said that ICE’s presence at American airports hinges on how many TSA agents report back to work. More than 500 TSA workers have quit since a partial government shutdown in February over funding for the TSA’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security. Thousands of TSA employees, who as essential workers are expected to work without pay during the shutdown, called out sick, with many taking on other jobs to make ends meet, resulting in travelers trapped in long lines at airport security checkpoints.
Read More: TSA Agents Could Get Paid as Soon as Monday Following Trump Order, DHS Says. Will It End the Airport Crisis?
“It depends how many TSA agents come back to work, how many TSA agents have actually quit and have no plan on coming back to work,” Homan added. “I’m working very closely with the TSA administrator and the ICE director to decide what airport needs what.”
Is ICE helping?
The deployment of ICE, an agency that has raked in controversy for its violent enforcement of Trump’s anti-immigration agenda, to assist in airport security operations has prompted mixed reactions. Democratic leaders have warned of ICE’s potential brutality toward travelers, while some travelers have indicated that their presence has been helpful.
Even White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt admitted on March 25 that wait times at airports had not decreased “as much as we like,” despite ICE’s assistance.
Homan, however, has defended ICE presence at airports. “The wait lines have decreased. I was in Houston—wait lines decreased in about half. We got additional agents going to Baltimore yesterday to bring those lines down.” The Baltimore-Washington International Airport said wait times at security checkpoints “improved significantly” on Sunday, though it did not attribute the improvement to ICE, and it still warned travelers to arrive 3 hours before their scheduled departures.
“I can understand the TSA union’s position,” Homan said amid the criticisms about ICE doing their job in airports. “They want to be paid. And they’re frustrated. But, however, the facts are, every place we send ICE officers, the lines have decreased. And they need to decrease more.”
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