ICE agents deployed to 14 airports. Will North Texans be affected?
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were deployed to 14 airports on Monday to aid TSA agents amid the partial government shutdown that has elongated security lines across the country.
Dallas/Fort Worth and Love Field airports are not affected, but two Houston airports were reported to have ICE agents present Monday morning, according to KTRK-TV in Houston. Houston’s William P. Hobby and Bush Intercontinental airports were both on the list.
The partial federal government shutdown began on Feb. 14 and was caused by a funding lapse for the Department of Homeland Security, which houses TSA and ICE. Because of the shutdown, TSA agents are being asked to work without pay for the third time since the fall.
Some workers have called in sick or quit in the four weeks since the shutdown began. Airports across the country have experienced extreme delays in the security line including Bush Intercontinental in Houston, where the line has gotten up to four hours long.
It’s not clear how the ICE agents will be helping TSA in airports, according to CNN, which interviewed Tom Homan, the White House border czar leading the ICE deployment.
See the full list of airports that will be assisted by ICE:
- ORD: Chicago-O’Hare International Airport
- CLE: Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
- ATL: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- HOU: William P. Hobby Airport in Houston
- IAH: Bush intercontinental in Houston
- JFK: John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York
- LGA: LaGuardia Airport in New York
- MSY: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
- JSU: Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- EWR: Newark Liberty International Airport
- PHL: Philadelphia International Airport
- PHX: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- PIT: Pittsburgh International Airport
- RSW: Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Florida