Trump Sics ICE Agents On Airports Around The Country In Futile Attempt To Cut Down On Wait Times As TSA Agents Go Without Pay

By Andy Kalmowitz
Officers look on as travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. Megan Varner/Getty Images

U.S. air travel is in turmoil right now, as long security lines stymie passengers' ability to make their flights, TSA agents go without pay thanks to a partial government shutdown and a major accident at New York's LaGuardia airport left two pilots dead and dozens of passengers injured. President Trump has decided that's not quite enough mayhem at our nation's airports, so he's decided to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a baker's dozen of airports around the country.

Trump claims it's being done in an effort to help with crowd management as the TSA deals with a growing number of callouts while the Department of Homeland Security is shut down due to the partial government shutdown in Washington. These ICE goons are expected to free up TSA agents to handle processing travelers, an official from DHS told The New York Times. In reality, Trump is doing this to put more pressure on Democrats in Congress to agree to a deal to fund the DHS and voted with Republicans to pass the SAVE Act — which imposes strict voter ID requirements and barbaric policies against transgender Americans.

He wrote on Truth Social that ICE agents would "do security like no one has ever seen before," which includes "the immediate arrest of all illegal immigrants who have come into our Country." So far, posts on social media mostly show these people — who are getting paid — standing around and doing nothing as unpaid TSA agents continue to deal with massive lines.

Trump's 13

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 23: Ice agents look on as travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. Megan Varner/Getty Images

So far, Trump has deployed ICE to Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, San Juan's Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Pittsburgh International Airport and Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Meyers.

The President called on ICE agents at these airports to not wear a mask as they "help" with security operations, writing on Truth Social, "I am a BIG proponent of ICE wearing masks as they search for, and are forced to deal with, hardened criminals," but that he would "greatly appreciate" that agents wear "NO MASKS" while deployed to airports."

If Trump's ICE deployments don't work, he told the Times that he would send in the National Guard to assist the TSA. I'm sure adding machine guns to the situation would only serve to ease tensions. He also added that he would "love it" if frenemy Elon Musk followed through with his weekend offer to pay TSA personnel during the shutdown. I've got a feeling Elon won't be doing that, though, mostly because it is super illegal for federal employees to take money from private citizens for all the reasons that are obvious. 

Just to make all of this more unsettling, it's a very real possibility that Trump got the idea for deploying ICE at airports from a radio host who pitched it on Fox News, according to CNN. "Linda from Arizona" called into "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" on March 20, saying that she thought ICE could solve the TSA issue, to which Travis responded that it was "kind of a brilliant idea." Trump announced his ICE plan on March 21. In between that, Travis appeared on Fox News and pitched the idea. What a hellscape we live in.

Obviously, ICE's deployment at our nation's airports is still brand new and a rapidly evolving situation, so we'll be sure to bring you updates as they come in.

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