Pittsburgh International Airport officials confirmed Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were at the airport to receive training to aid Transportation Security Administration workers.
Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesman Bob Kerlik said in a statement Monday that airport officials were not briefed on exact plans for how ICE will operate at airports.
President Donald Trump announced that ICE agents would be deployed to airports to help with security checkpoints during the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security during the federal budget impasse.
Kerlik did not answer specific questions about how many ICE agents were at the airport, who will oversee ICE agents at the airport, what specific roles ICE agents will perform in TSA lines, or when travelers will begin to see them at the gates.
Kimberly Kraynak-Lambert, District 3 office manager for the American Federation of Government Employees, said TSA does not want ICE at the airport’s gates, as morale within the union is at a low point.
“The fact that (the government) is bringing in untrained ICE agents, who, by the way, are receiving a paycheck, to do the vital job that TSA officers have been trained to do is unacceptable,” Kraynak- Lambert said.
A spokeswoman for DHS in Philadelphia issued a statement saying that for operational security reasons, the department was “not going to confirm the locations” of ICE officers.
“Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted. This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions,” the statement said.
DHS officials did not respond to specific questions about what roles ICE agents will be filling or whether or not they are in uniform.
As of 1:30 p.m., there did not appear to be marked ICE agents at TSA gates. Kerlik said it was unlikely travelers would see agents Monday.
Security checkpoint wait times ranged from five to 20 minutes.
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato did not endorse having ICE agents at the facility.
“Just like Allegheny County does not need ICE agents patrolling our neighborhoods, we don’t need ICE at the airport where TSA lines have remained short and manageable,” she said in a statement.
Traveler Isaac Mugula, who lives in Pittsburgh, said he thinks having ICE help is a good thing if it keeps security lines moving.
“It’s not good for people to be waiting around,” said Mugula, 27.
Rhonda Gifford, 57, of Greensburg, thought TSA wait times were going to be longer after hearing that ICE was called into the airport.
Gifford described the situation as a “mixed bag” and said she wished TSA agents were being paid.
“If that would happen, then there would be no need for ICE agents to be here, and honestly I would prefer to see TSA agents just doing the job that they’re supposed to do,” Gifford said.
In a prepared statement, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, who has been outspoken over transparency with ICE operation, advocated for paying TSA officers and reopening the government.
Jaime Martinez, founder of the Pittsburgh nonprofit Frontline Dignity that advocates for immigrants, said having ICE agents in the airport creates confusion.
“Our airport is meant to show the world the best of who we are — welcoming, forward-looking and rooted in community. Deploying ICE for political gamesmanship, while the government refuses to pay TSA workers, undermines that vision by injecting fear and confusion where there should be connection, and turning a symbol of regional pride into a place of uncertainty for too many families,” Martinez said.
TSA workers have been unpaid for roughly five weeks during Homeland Security’s partial shutdown.