Homan: ICE officers will not assist with airport security scanning amid TSA staffing shortage

Homan: ICE officers will not assist with airport security scanning amid TSA staffing shortage

White House border czar Tom Homan announced that ICE officers will begin assisting airports on Monday to alleviate staffing shortages caused by the 40-day DHS shutdown, though they will focus on perimeter security rather than passenger screening.

White House border czar Tom Homan clarified on Sunday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers will begin assisting the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Monday to address critical staffing shortages during the ongoing 40-day Department of Homeland Security shutdown. Despite conflicting comments from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy regarding screening duties, Homan stated that ICE personnel would not operate X-ray machines, noting, “wherever we can provide extra security, I don’t see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine, because we’re not trained in that.”

Instead, the plan involves deploying ICE agents to specialized roles, such as guarding exits, to allow TSA officers to return to passenger screening lines. Homan emphasized that the move is a surge specifically aimed at “helping the men and women at TSA” at airports with the longest wait times, while maintaining that ICE’s standard immigration enforcement at transit hubs “is not going to change.”

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