Trump sends ICE to airports to ease TSA lines, says agents can make arrests

This morning, ICE agents will begin deploying two airports to help with long TSA lines as a funding standoff in Washington drags on

Passengers are already dealing with long waits at security checkpoints, with some lines stretching for hours out the doors and down hallways at major airports

The problem? TSA staffing shortages as workers miss paychecks during the Department of Homeland Security funding fight

Now, the Trump administration says ICE agents will step in to help keep travelers moving

On Fox News Sunday, border czar Tom Holman said ICE will assist with airport operations

including managing crowds so TSA officers can stay focused on screening. We're going to try to move both lines quicker, give TSA support

They're our brothers and sisters on the DHS. And we simply need to get these officers paid

But until then, the president came up with a great idea. Let's send additional resources to the airports to support the American people and support the men and women with TSA who are not getting paid but shown up for work every day

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says ICE agents are trained and can help even if they're not replacing TSA officers

They run those same type of security machines at the southern border right Packages come through or people come through They run similar assets And again even if we look at the line there

to manage the through flow of people and even administratively, they'll be helpful. But again

we have ICE agents who are trained and can provide assistance to agents

But there are still questions about how the plan will work, including how many ICE agents will be

deployed and where. Democrats argue the plan puts untrained personnel in sensitive roles and could

make a tense situation worse. There are three things that have been true since Donald Trump

and Republicans came back into power last January. Life is more expensive. Life is more chaotic and

life is more extreme. We've already seen how ICE conducts itself. These are untrained individuals

when it comes to doing the current job that they have for the most part

let alone deploying them in close exposure in highly sensitive situations at airports across the country

The deployment comes after President Trump confirmed the move on Truth Social Sunday

saying ICE agents would be sent to airports starting today. The White House says it's a temporary solution until Congress resolves the funding stalemate and TSA workers are paid