ICE agents have been deployed to airports. What's their role? : NPR

Key Points:

• President Trump has deployed ICE agents to major U.S. airports to address TSA staffing shortages caused by the partial government shutdown, as TSA employees work without pay and many have quit or called out.
• ICE agents have broad authority to question, search, arrest, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants, and can arrest individuals under any criminal statute they witness being violated.
• Under the Trump administration, ICE's operations have become more aggressive, with increased funding allowing them to operate independently of the shutdown and use tactics traditionally reserved for border enforcement inside the U.S.
• At airports, ICE agents are officially tasked with supporting TSA by managing entrances, crowd control, and verifying IDs, but they also retain their enforcement mandate to identify and arrest suspected undocumented immigrants.
• White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed that ICE presence at airports includes targeting criminals, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and money smuggling, indicating a dual focus on security facilitation and aggressive immigration enforcement.