The ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown has created a crisis at dozens of airports across the United States. With Transportation Security Administration workers not being paid due to the shutdown, the Trump administration approved the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to help manage hour-long screening lines.
When the deployments were first announced, officers were sent to 14 airports across the country. The move, aimed at easing long security lines caused by a shortage of TSA employees who have stopped showing up to work or quit as a result of the weeks-long partial government shutdown, has created its own problems, as it remains unclear whether agents have the proper training or if they will conduct immigration enforcement duties.
