ICE Agents Deployed to JFK and New Orleans Airports Amid TSA Staffing Crisis

Federal immigration agents were deployed to patrol John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and the international airport in New Orleans on March 23, as the DHS partial government shutdown created severe staffing shortages at TSA checkpoints. ICE agents were assigned to non-specialized screening functions such as travel document assessment, bypassing standard TSA onboarding. TSA union officials strongly criticized the deployment, noting ICE agents lack security screening training. Wait times at some airports exceeded four and a half hours — the highest in TSA history.