Top Congressional Democrat Claims ICE Will ‘Kill’ Families At Airports

Record-long security lines are snarling airports nationwide as the partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown drags into its sixth week, and President Trump says reinforcements are on the way.

With TSA short-staffed after a surge of callouts, the White House plans to deploy ICE agents to 14 airports to help keep lines moving and reduce bottlenecks, according to administration officials. The move comes as travelers report arriving hours early just to have a shot at making flights.

Air travelers Grant and Sarah Pittman, waiting outside an airport security line, said, “We got here five hours early. Fingers crossed we make it.”

The strain is being felt across the system. A record 3,250 TSA employees, more than 11.5% of the workforce, called out nationwide over the weekend. At some of the busiest hubs, including Atlanta and JFK, callout rates were reported to be roughly 30% to 40%, compounding delays as screeners go another stretch without pay.

TSA Officer Sharre Quick said, “It’s very stressful and frustrating, knowing that I’m still expected to work without pay. I’ve had to stretch every dollar. I have to rely on help from my family.”

Under the plan, ICE agents will not replace TSA screeners at checkpoints. Instead, they are expected to handle crowd control and non-screening duties, freeing TSA officers to return to screening lanes and scanners. Border Czar Tom Homan said that’s the point of the deployment.

“There are roles we can play to release TSA officers from the non-significant role, such as guarding an exit, so they can get back to the scanning machines and move people quicker,” Homan told CNN.

The airport chaos is the latest flashpoint in the broader standoff over DHS funding. With the partial shutdown now past 40 days, negotiations have repeatedly stalled. Democrats have pushed to fund TSA separately while holding out for changes tied to immigration enforcement, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Republicans argue that carving up DHS during a national security moment is reckless, especially with threats tied to the Iran conflict and rising concerns about retaliatory plots.

Democrats, meanwhile, are going on offense over the ICE deployment. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., blasted the idea of bringing ICE into airports and claimed it could put travelers at risk.

RELATED: JUST IN: Trump Vows To Deploy ICE For Airport Security If Dems Continue DHS Shutdown

“The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or, in some instances, kill them,” Jeffries told CNN.

Republicans counter that the claim is inflammatory and ignores what ICE is being asked to do: support basic operations so families aren’t stuck in security gridlock while TSA staffing collapses. The White House has also argued that the shutdown itself is the root problem, and that Democrats could end the crisis by passing full DHS funding instead of piecemeal bills.

There are reports of renewed talks on Capitol Hill, but lawmakers have limited runway. Congress has about a week before the Senate breaks for spring recess, and airports are bracing for more travel surges with fewer screeners on the job.

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