By: Tanvi Ambekar

Opinion Editor

As the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrations continues, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have taken to monitoring airports across the U.S.

On Mar. 23, President Donald Trump deployed ICE agents to 13 airports across the U.S. mainland, as well as Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the time, due to the partial government shutdown, thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials were left to work without pay until the government reopened. Since then, more than 480 TSA agents have quit, and according to TSA deputy administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, thousands more were quitting each day. Trump used the national shortage of TSA officials to deploy the better-funded ICE officers, effectively extending their immigration enforcement authority to airports. 

Recent reports have revealed that before and during ICE’s airport deployment, TSA supplied the agency with records on more than 31,000 travelers for possible immigration enforcement. The information was gathered by TSA’s Secure Flight Program, which allows the agency to ​review passenger information for people who may be on U.S. government watchlists. ICE used the records to arrest over 800 people in two weeks, although not all of the arrests are confirmed to have happened inside airports.

Because TSA and ICE are both part of the Department for Homeland Security (DHS), information exchanges are common between the agencies. In spite of this, this is the first time that ICE agents, who are untrained in airport security protocol, stepped in to replace their transportation-focused counterparts.

However, as of Apr. 7, ICE agents have begun leaving from the airports as per government orders. Due to the government’s reopening, TSA now has proper funding and can afford to pay its officials regularly, which eliminates the need for supplementary law enforcement at these airports. 

Philadelphia International Airport’s interim CEO, Tracy Borda, announced that starting Apr. 9, ICE would not be present in place of TSA. Similarly, officials from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and Pittsburgh International Airport have reported that no ICE agents are present at their locations.

Nevertheless, other locations, including those in Texas, New York, and Florida, have redirected all questions to DHS. ICE agents are still present in airports where TSA funding has not completely started up again, and although their removal seems increasingly likely, the DHS’s definite actions remain unclear.

(Sources: CNN, Fox News, ideastream public media, Reuters)