Border czar Tom Homan said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will remain at airports until Transportation Security Administration agents can resume normal day-to-day operations.
“We’re going to continue an ICE presence there, and until the airports feel like they’re in 100%, you know, in a posture where they can do normal operations,” Homan said during an appearance on CBS News‘ Face the Nation Sunday (March 29). “So if less TSA agents come back, that means we’ll keep more ICE agents there.”
Homan’s comments came days after President Donald Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers amid the ongoing partial shutdown. The border czar said TSA officers, who haven’t received a full paycheck in more than a month, will “hopefully” receive payments by Monday (March 30) or Tuesday (March 31).
“We’ll see,” Homan said when asked if ICE agents would leave airports after TSA officers started receiving compensation during an appearance on CNN.
“It depends how many TSA agents come back to work, how many TSA agents have actually quit and have no plan of coming back to work. I’m working very closely with TSA administrator and the ICE director to decide what airport needs what,” he added.
Approximately 500 TSA workers have quit and the agency has seen a record number of callouts during the partial shutdown, which has resulted in long wait times at security checkpoints nationwide.
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