The U.S. immigration counselor Tom Homan declared on Sunday, March 22 that immigration police agents (ICE) would be deployed in American airports on Monday. The priority is given “to major airports where the lines are the longest, up to three hours,” he said on CNN. Faced with a partial budget paralysis since February 14, the United States has placed thousands of federal employees of the Department of Homeland Security on temporary leave, including TSA personnel.
The lack of specialized agents leads to delays in passenger security checks and waiting times for travelers can then take hours. The number of ICE agents dispatched was not disclosed, but this announcement confirms the statements made by the American president the day before. ICE agents are responsible for security tasks, such as monitoring exit gates but not specialized checkpoints. “I don’t see an ICE agent supervising an X-ray scanner, because they have not been trained for that,” said Tom Homan.
Airports on the brink of saturation
The partial budget paralysis has put some on temporary leave, while others continue to work without being paid. The situation is not expected to improve. According to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, more and more TSA agents “will resign or not show up for work,” in order to “take another job to buy food and pay rent,” as he analyzed on ABC. “There is an average absenteeism rate of 10% at airports,” but “up to 30% to 40%” in some places, he explained.
