As air travel in the U.S. continues to snarl over the unpaid wages of TSA workers, Donald Trump has come up with a solution nobody asked for: Add ICE agents to the airport.
So that's happening. And to give you fair warning as to where these ICE agents will show up next, we decided to break down which airports you'll find them at and how to spot them.
NOT ICE
TSA VIPR
If they’re wearing khaki pants, black shirts, and black vests labeled “Department of Homeland Security Police,” they’re with TSA’s team, which monitors public transit, including Metro stations.
They are likely part of TSA’s Visible Intermodal Prevention & Response (VIPR) team. Also, they are too well-groomed and dressed to be ICE goons.
U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has always been at airports in navy blue uniforms, checking passports, and performing other duties. They are not ICE.
IS ICE
ICE, HSI, ERO
You will see three types of uniformed ICE agents, mainly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), all three of which are ICE.
Trump has ordered them to be unmasked, but if you see them masked without uniforms, they are likely making a targeted arrest or transferring someone to another country, as they were seen doing at San Francisco’s airport over the weekend.
AIRPORTS WHERE ICE IS CURRENTLY DEPLOYED:
- Chicago-O'Hare International Airport (Chicago, Illinois)
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Atlanta, Georgia)
- William P. Hobby Airport (Houston, Texas)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York City, New York)
- LaGuardia Airport (New York City, New York)
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (Kenner, Louisiana)
- Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
- Newark Liberty International Airport (Newark, New Jersey)
- Philadelphia International Airport (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (Phoenix, Arizona)
- Pittsburgh International Airport (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida)
