ICE agents arrive at Philadelphia, Pittsburgh airports as TSA workers go unpaid

President Trump has sent in ICE officers to assist at security checkpoints at more than a dozen US airports, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as Transportation Security Administration airport workers remain on the job without pay.

With the Department of Homeland Security shutdown now in its 39th day, senators are discussing a proposal to end the budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including Transportation Security Administration workers who are currently going without pay. 

The longer TSA officers work unpaid during the partial shutdown, the more likely it is that some will miss shifts as they take on second jobs to cover necessities like gas and child care and other bills. Many may still be recovering financially after the 43-day shutdown last fall, the longest in history.

As US airports remain jammed with long lines due to staffing shortages, President Donald Trump has ordered ICE officers to assist at airports, alarming some lawmakers. ICE agents are not trained airport screeners and lack the clearance required to work the security checkpoint.

Philadelphia International Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport were two of 14 airports named for ICE backup for TSA workers, though it’s unclear how many ICE agents are at each airport, and what specific purpose they would serve.

Trump said they could enforce immigration laws while at airports, but should not be masked while working in transportation security.

“What I see ICE agents doing is helping TSA plug the holes of security,” White House Border Czar Tom Homan told ABC News on Monday.

Here’s a look at what’s happening at airports around the commonwealth:

Philadelphia International Airport

ICE agents could be seen walking the terminals at the Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday, mostly hanging back and helping travelers as needed, according to 6ABC.

According to the airport, TSA lines were moving smoothly as of Tuesday morning.

Some travelers questioned the presence of ICE agents at PHL.

“I think that it’s disappointing that we are paying for ICE agents to stand next to a door, when we are not paying for TSA agents to pay their rent,” one traveler told 6ABC.

Pittsburgh International Airport

It was business as usual at Pittsburgh International Airport Tuesday morning, with standard security line wait times.

Airport spokesperson Bob Kerlik said ICE was training at the terminal Monday, and was expected to begin assisting passengers at security checkpoints on Tuesday. 

“Our leadership team remains in close contact with our federal partners at TSA and others as well as local law enforcement with Allegheny County Police,” Kerlik said in a statement. “… How federal agencies operate is not something that any airport, including ACAA, controls.”

Kimberly Kraynak-Lambert, the spokesperson for the union that represents TSA workers in Pittsburgh, told Pittsburgh Public Source that she received confirmation from her members that ICE agents were on site Monday morning. She said the union strongly disagrees with the deployment.

“They are untrained and their job is not to be at the airport. Our TSA officers are the ones that are trained and certified,” Kraynak-Lambert said. “ … [TSA officers] need to be paid. They don’t need ICE, they need to be paid.” 

County Executive Sara Innamorato issued a statement saying the county doesn’t “need ICE at the airport where TSA lines have remained short and manageable. Sending ICE into our public spaces and communities is never about safety and security threats and has led to racial profiling and harassment of our neighbors.” She suggested that ICE instead investigate the March 2 death of Charleroi resident Daphy Michel, a Haitian who was in the agency’s custody days earlier.

Erie International Airport

Derek Martin, executive director of Erie International Airport, said no one is suggesting that ICE agents will be deployed to help TSA agents at Erie’s airport.

Nor does he think the deployment of ICE agents to airports with connecting flights to Erie, like Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and Pittsburgh International Airport, will benefit travelers bound for EIA.

“ICE can’t screen passengers. They can’t go past security and they aren’t trained to screen people,” Martin said. “A lot of things are happening that make no sense. I don’t know what they are going to do other than frustrate people who aren’t getting paid.”

Martin said ICE agents could be used in small numbers to monitor exit lines outside of the screening area.

“That is the spot where they might be, but I don’t think it’s a huge change,” he said

State College Regional Airport

According to the Centre Daily Times, lines at State College Regional Airport are unaffected by the partial government shutdown that has led to TSA agents going unpaid, the airport’s top official said Monday.

“We’ve got great people showing up to work,” Ralph Stewart, State College Regional Airport’s interim executive director told the CDT of the unpaid TSA agents. “We feel very bad that they’re not getting paid, but they are showing up, doing their jobs.”

Elsewhere

Messages left for Lehigh Valley International Airport were not immediately returned. Attempts to reach a spokesperson at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport were unsuccessful.

Information from the Associated Press and USA Today Network via Reuters Connect was used in this report.