ICE officers patrolling Kennedy and LaGuardia after Trump TSA directive

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have deployed to patrol LaGuardia, Kennedy, Newark and other airports across the nation amid a partial federal government shutdown that has led to longer than normal waits at security checkpoints.

The officers, most carrying pistols and wearing tactical gear, were seen by Newsday reporters at LaGuardia and Kennedy on Monday. A spokesperson for the Port Authority, which operates the area's major airports, said that ICE officers were at Newark Liberty as well. 

At LaGuardia, roughly 20 armed officers were spotted near baggage carousels, security lines or roaming through the airport's Terminal B.

At Kennedy, seven armed ICE and Homeland Security officers stood at Terminal 4 in the departures area.

At both airports, some officers wore bulletproof vests marked ERO for the arm of ICE charged with enforcement and removal operations, which include the arrest and removal of immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally. The reporters did not see the officers screening passengers or making arrests. 

Federal officials have said the officers, deploying around the country to airports including those in Atlanta, New Orleans and Houston, would supplement Transportation Security Administration workers. Some TSA workers are not showing up after going weeks without pay because Congress last month did not renew funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency for ICE and the TSA.

Federal officers often work at international airports, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving travelers and Homeland Security Investigations agents handle criminal cases tied to smuggling, trafficking and fraud, but it’s unusual for them to be so visible at TSA security checkpoints.

On Monday afternoon, as the officers patrolled, JFK's website displayed a message warning passengers of potentially lengthy security waits.

"Wait times are subject to rapid change based on passenger volumes and TSA staffing," the message said, in part. "For these reasons, wait time reporting has been temporarily suspended. Please allow for significantly more time."

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not agree to an interview request and did not say how long ICE officers would be stationed at airports, instead forwarding a statement from Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis that blamed Congressional Democrats for the shutdown and credited President Donald Trump with deploying "hundreds" of ICE officers to impacted airports. "This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions," Bis said.

The department would not say where the officers were deployed, citing security concerns, but the DHS spokesperson sent with the statement a list of major airports affected by callouts of TSA workers. On Sunday, 37.4% of officers called out of work at JFK and 21.7% at LaGuardia, according to the department. Nationwide, at least 3,450 officers had called out, or 11.76%, the highest rate since the shutdown.

The American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing TSA workers, criticized Trump’s plan.

"ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security," the union said in a statement. "TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons, and threats specifically designed to evade detection at checkpoints — skills that require specialized instruction, hands-on practice, and ongoing recertification. You cannot improvise that. Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one."

Trump said Sunday that he would order federal immigration officers to airports to assist TSA by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs unless Democrats agreed to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Speaking to reporters Monday, though, he suggested a potentially broader role for the officers: "they are able now to arrest illegals as they come into the country. That’s very fertile territory, but that’s not why they’re there. They’re really there to help."

Funding for the department lapsed Feb. 14, as Democrats refused to fund ICE as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection without changes to their operations. They have demanded that ICE officers get a warrant from a judge before forcefully entering homes, that they not wear masks and that their uniforms bear identifying information.

ICE has played a prominent, sometimes controversial role in Trump's efforts to execute what he says will be the largest deportation operation in American history. Criticism of the agency grew after immigration officers fatally shot two American citizens in Minneapolis in January, and on Monday some travelers said they were unhappy to see ICE in the airport.

"It really reminds me of being in a police state, which I never thought I would see in this country," said Lorin Engquist, 56, of Brooklyn, checking in for a flight out of JFK. 

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan), who visited LaGuardia Monday, said his office had fielded questions from constituents worried they could be targeted by the officers. "I think it sets a chilling effect out here that is, I think, unnecessary," he said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.