Unmasked ICE agents have been deployed at major airports across the country to bolster exhausted and unpaid TSA agents – and they’re being hounded by flyers and photographers trying to shame them for their jobs.
The agents were deployed nationwide Monday at about 13 airports, where security staff have been working without pay since a partial government shutdown cut Department of Homeland Security funding in February.
“Go back to your master, Donald Trump, go back to your master!” one woman shouted at agents across a baggage claim terminal at Newark International Airport, footage taken at the airport showed.
Unmasked ICE agents gather at Terminal 8 at JFK Airport on Monday, March 23, 2026. Michael Nigro
An unmasked ICE agent patrols Terminal 8 at JFK Airport. Michael Nigro“And Netanyahu, if he’s still alive, go back to your master!” the woman added, referring to the prime minister of Israel.
“ICE out now! ICE out now!” others yelled.
An ICE agent helps patrol JFK Airport on Monday, March 23, 2026. Officers were deployed to airports to help ease long TSA lines. Michael NigroTSA agents missed their first full paycheck in March, leading to hundreds calling out sick and airports being left short-staffed while travelers continue to pour through airports.
President Trump announced the deployment of ICE officers to bolster TSA ranks Sunday – but footage quickly emerged of travelers chasing the officers while shoving cameras in their faces, or shouting things at them as they went about their work.
But others weren’t so hostile, with clips also showing some travelers shaking officers’ hands and thanking them for their help.
The airports where ICE has been deployed include Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Cleveland, Houston Hobby, Fort Myers, New Orleans, New York JFK, New York LaGuardia, Newark Liberty, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Port Authority officers speak with ICE agents at Newark Airport on Monday, March 23, 2026. REUTERSOver the weekend, TSA screener absences reached their highest level since the partial shutdown began five weeks ago, according to the DHS.
More than a third of TSA staff at airports in New York City, Houston, and Atlanta reported being absent or called in sick, the agency said.
The partial shutdown has left tens of thousands of workers without pay after DHS funding lapsed on Feb. 13.
And many TSA agents have begun quitting over the shutdown – with at least 400 turning in their badges since in the last month, NBC News reported.
It also comes less than a year after TSA agents endured the longest government shutdown in US history last fall, which left many workers without pay for weeks.
Democrats and some Republicans are refusing to fund the department’s annual budget over President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, with holdouts demanding reforms to ICE and border patrol before signing any new funding.
