What is ICE actually doing at the airport?

A US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stands watch at a security checkpoint at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, on March 23, 2026. Immigration agents will be deployed in US airports beginning Monday, aiming to alleviate soaring congestion at security screenings amid a weeks-long budget standoff over President Donald Trump's mass deportation drive, officials said. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images

I arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport nearly five hours before my domestic flight. This is not my way - usually I roll up to the airport 30 minutes before boarding - but not even I have enough hubris to think that my good luck is more powerful than a partial government shutdown. Congress has yet to pass a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, meaning thousands of federal employees from TSA to the Coast Guard are working without pay - or, in the case of TSA, calling out of work, causing staff shortages and hourslong security lines at airports across the country.

On Monday, President Donald Trump deployed between 100 …

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