ICE Agents Now Checking IDs at Airports

ICE officers are now checking IDs alongside TSA at the nation's airports, part of a push to try to ease long lines amid the partial government shutdown, reports the Hill. Acting TSA chief Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers on Wednesday that ICE officers have trained for several days in "non-specialized screening" that includes ID checks. In the first days of their deployment to select airports, the immigration officers mainly stood guard to police crowds. But on Wednesday, ICE officers were seen checking IDs, instructing travelers on how to use card readers, and helping move bags on conveyor belts at airports including Atlanta and Phoenix, per the New York Times.

It was not clear how widespread the shift in duties was, or if it was having an appreciable effect on the lines. "Look, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what ICE is doing up there," says Johnny Jones, an official with the American Federation of Government Employees union. "They just need to pay the employees." The nation's TSA workers have been working without pay since Feb. 14 because of a dispute over Homeland Security funding. Roughly 500 have quit in that span, and many others have called out sick.