What does ICE actually do at US airports?

I arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport about five hours before my domestic flight. This isn’t my style — I usually get to the airport 30 minutes before boarding the plane — but even I don’t have enough arrogance to think my good fortune is stronger than a partial government shutdown. Congress has yet to pass a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which means thousands of federal employees, from the TSA to the Coast Guard, are working without pay — or, in the case of the TSA, called back to work, causing staffing shortages and Long security lines at airports for hours All over the country.

On Monday, President Donald Trump Between 100 and 150 ICE agents were deployed at several airports He claimed to manage these increasingly impatient crowds and reduce waiting times. Almost immediately after the incident, a video of ICE agents began circulating Addressing a woman on the floor At San Francisco International Airport. The video was taken a day before the ICE deployment, and it’s not clear whether the agents were at SFO at the president’s direction or whether they were looking for that woman in particular. However, the presence of armed federal agents They are known for carrying out violent arrests Walking around airports makes people feel uncomfortable. It made me feel uncomfortable seeing them at JFK on the day of their deployment.

The effects of the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown are very evident at airports. The shutdown began on February 14, after Congress failed to pass an appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats have refused to fund DHS unless Congress implements a number of reforms, including banning agents from wearing masks and requiring them to wear badges or clothing that identifies them as law enforcement. Although ICE is at the heart of these negotiations, both agencies have continued their operations unabated due to funding cuts, thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill of 2025, which gave the agencies a combined $170 billion to allocate to immigration enforcement through 2029. Paid to fund legislation The Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency all fall under the Department of Homeland Security, while negotiations over ICE and CBP continue. Meanwhile, Trump reportedly said he was Open for $5 billion funding cut For ICE if the Senate passes the SAVE Act, the voter ID law critics say It could prevent millions of citizens from casting their votes. Congress He still hasn’t reached an agreement Regarding funding for the Department of Homeland Security; The chaos will continue until that happens.

I saw ICE right after arriving at JFK Terminal 4. Four customers stood in a tight circle outside the Delta Sky Priority check-in area. They don’t seem to be managing the crowd or doing much of anything at all. Their jackets identified them as ERO: Enforcement and Removal Operations, the division that carries out immigration arrests and raids. As I made my way to the TSA line — wait time: one hour and counting — I saw two other agents standing idly in the corner.

Despite the crowds, I had plenty of time to check for ICE at other JFK terminals. I saw the same thing in all of them: ICE agents, sometimes from ERO and sometimes from other departments, huddled together near the check-in area. Sometimes the couple separates and wanders off. They didn’t violently arrest anyone, but they also didn’t help with crowd management, which is ostensibly the reason they were sent to JFK and other airports in the first place.

I saw six ERO agents in Terminal 5 gathered around the coffee kiosk near the entrance. I headed to Terminal 7, the oldest and smallest terminal at JFK, and saw ICE before walking inside. These agents were affiliated with Homeland Security Investigations, the unit typically tasked with investigating terrorism, child sexual abuse, human smuggling, and international financial crimes, which under Trump Its resources have been diverted Toward the mass deportation efforts of the president. Like ERO officers at other stations, the five HSI agents in Terminal 7 — people who, it must be repeated, could investigate child sexual abuse — were standing in a circle and talking. I stood outside and peered through the large windows, trying to look inconspicuous while vaping a matcha-flavored cigarette. I waited to see if something would happen. Nothing happened, so I went to Terminal 8.

In Terminal 8 I saw four officers also standing against a wall near the check-in area. Two of them broke away from the group and joined another pair of agents near the bag drop. As I descended the escalator onto the Air Train, I saw a man approaching them. I couldn’t hear what he said, but the conversation seemed friendly enough. A strange version of this scene was repeated at the next stop.

The first thing you see when you enter Terminal 1 at JFK Airport is the large American flag. The second thing you see is a larger picture of Kendall Jenner. And if you happen to be there around 4:30pm on a Monday, the third thing you’ll see is a man approaching a group of six ERO agents and asking them to take a picture with his child. The customers smiled, seeming to be happy with the order and not busy with anything else. The father returned smiling. The child sat groggy in his arms, as children do.

I’ve seen enough. My flight took just over three hours; There was no reason for me to keep rambling around JFK.

Stress at airports seems to manifest itself in both ridiculous and dangerous ways. The TSA line at Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta was too long for more than one woman Take out the violin To entertain her fellow passengers. Sunday night, an Air Canada plane He collided with a fire engine On the runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Two pilots were killed and dozens of people, including passengers and aircraft employees, were injured in the accident. The incident appears to be unrelated to the shutdown — air traffic controllers are fully funded, although the Federal Aviation Administration has been handling the matter. A long-term employment crisis of its own But for travelers, the details of this crisis are difficult to glean from the long lines and ICE agents they now see at the airport.

Did the presence of ICE make the TSA process smoother in a way that I couldn’t detect from the other side of the gate? I will find the answer soon.

Back at Terminal 4, I saw two different ERO agents in the space between the TSA PreCheck line and the Delta One lounge. They also did nothing. One of them wore sunglasses even though we were indoors. I didn’t see a single ICE agent in line, nor did I see them helping with passenger processing. The woman in the bottom row thanked the TSA agent for the work and said we were all grateful. “We do this because we love you all,” the agent said. I felt a nice sense of camaraderie and goodwill toward my colleagues in the TSA PreCheck line in Terminal 4 at JFK, which I don’t normally feel in the TSA PreCheck line in Terminal 4 at JFK. When I got to the front of the line, I also thanked the agent and said I was sorry he was working without pay. He told me he was doing it because a lot of his friends couldn’t afford it.

From the relative comfort of my doorstep, I emailed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports. I asked about the existence of an ICE agency and what exactly agents were supposed to do there. A spokesperson got back to me a few hours later: “The Port Authority expects that any employees assigned to assist with passenger processing functions will be appropriately trained and will focus on supporting screening operations, consistent with maintaining the safety, integrity and efficiency of the security operation at our airports and protecting the aviation public.” That wasn’t quite in line with what I saw.

The situation has become more chaotic since Monday. JFK Airport’s Terminal 5 was packed Tuesday morning. Nationally, more than 11.5% of TSA agents were out of work on March 21. An amazing 47.4 percent of agents in George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston He did not show up for work that day by Tuesday, Wait times at Bush Intercontinental Hotel It had been about four hours, and ICE agents had done that They started distributing water bottles For weary travelers.

Republicans are now considering a compromise that would fund the TSA and other DHS agencies while eliminating money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. New York Times Reports. Sen. Susan Collins, chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters Monday night that she was “most optimistic that by the end of the week we will have funded the Department of Homeland Security.”

They may finally feel a sense of urgency.

Tuesday Delta Announce Independent service for members of Congress has been suspended until TSA funding is restored. “Due to the impact on resources caused by the prolonged government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialized services for members of Congress flying via Delta,” a statement from the airline said. “Beyond safety, Delta’s top priority is taking care of our employees and customers, something that has become increasingly difficult in our current environment.”

With their privileges gone, members of Congress will have to deal with lines and hassle like everyone else. Maybe this will give them the boost they need to fund the TSA. Until and unless they do, bad feelings will continue at the airport.