On March 23rd, ICE agents were deployed into airports due to TSA shortages. The government is currently shut down because Congress refused to pass a bill that would fund ICE. However, that same bill also funds TSA and other factions of Homeland Security.
Because TSA workers haven’t been paid, a record number have been quitting and dropping out. Instead of trying to pay the workers that remain, Trump has deployed ICE agents into airports to assist with crowd control and general security. Trump has been using a separate bill to fund ICE agents.
WMC History teacher Mr. Jacobsen explains some instances where security has improved in certain places, but not in others. “[ICE is] kind of varied in terms of its response and its success. That being said, you know, hopefully, once TSA is funded again, they could go back to doing what they do best, but may or may not be depends on your point of view and the best interests to have ICE agents there as well.”
ICE has been deployed in New York’s JFK Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and more airports across the US. Trump said on X that ICE may detain any undocumented immigrants at airports and that officers are not required to wear masks.
Zuzanna Tarnawska, a sophomore at WMC, thinks that Congress should compromise to fund TSA. “I think we should just pay the TSA agents who are specifically trained for that job,” she shares. “I just don’t think we should have the government shut down for this long.”
Currently, Congress has been working to pass a bill that will help fund agencies of the Department of Homeland Security, but while excluding ICE. The House of Representatives has yet to pass it.
