ICE Agents Deployed to 14 U.S. Airports Amid Government Shutdown TSA Shortages, With a Detention at SFO Sparking Outrage
Over a 24-hour period starting Sunday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been positioned in major airport terminals across the United States, with on-the-ground witness footage documenting their presence in public travel spaces from coast to coast.
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest air hub in the world, user-shared videos and photos show ICE agents posted directly alongside standard TSA security screening lanes. Online footage also places ICE personnel spread across public check-in zones at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. At Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, observers spotted ICE officers patrolling the main United Airlines terminal, clearly identifiable by their branded “ICE” tactical vests. The most dramatic incident unfolded at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), where multiple independent recordings show what appear to be plainclothes law enforcement officers forcibly taking a young woman into custody, while dozens of traveling bystanders stopped to record the confrontation.
Per reporting from The New York Times, the nationwide operation covers 14 major U.S. airports total, including New York’s John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia Airports, plus major hubs in Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.
One eyewitness who filmed the SFO detention told WIRED she began recording after hearing a “horrific” scream while walking to her departure gate. The witness, who requested anonymity to protect her privacy, stated the two men involved never shared their affiliation, and that they appeared to be physically restraining a woman who was clinging tightly to her child.
“I ran over and demanded to know who they worked for, if they were actually law enforcement, and asked them to show proof of their identity,” the witness explained. She added that the pair never allowed her to see their badge numbers, prompting her to call the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) for help. “When SFPD got there, they formed a ring around the men detaining the woman and refused to answer any questions from the crowd of us demanding information—they just stared straight ahead,” she recalled. “All of the SFPD officers had clearly visible badge numbers, so I asked them why I could see their IDs and agency affiliation but not those two unidentifiable men. The plainclothes men never told anyone who they were, and eventually police pushed the crowd back so I had to leave to catch my flight.”
Additional footage from the scene shows officers forming a human barrier between the detention team and the crowd of onlookers. “Everyone around was clearly upset and shaken. People were yelling at the agents, calling them out,” the witness said. “Watching that unfold was absolutely terrifying, and I felt sick to my stomach. When I got home last night, I couldn’t sleep at all.”
A spokesperson for SFO confirmed to NBC Bay Area that federal agents did detain a woman at the airport on Sunday, but claimed the incident was not connected to the broader nationwide ICE deployment. An SFPD spokesperson told WIRED that the department “does not assist in the enforcement of civil federal immigration laws.” Once officers on scene confirmed the incident was tied to immigration enforcement, the spokesperson explained, they stepped back from direct involvement but “remained at the scene to maintain public safety.”
Officially, the ICE deployment is framed as a response to cripplingly long security lines sparked by the ongoing partial U.S. government shutdown. Thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have gone unpaid since late January, and widespread absences and resignations have left security operations severely understaffed.
White House border czar Tom Homan has claimed ICE agents will help fill critical staffing gaps at security checkpoints. But in a March 21 post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump stated that ICE would be carrying out “security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia.” The Trump administration has repeatedly targeted the Somali American community, particularly in Minnesota, after fraud allegations linked to some of the state’s childcare centers prompted the administration to deploy roughly 3,000 immigration agents to the state.
The White House declined to answer WIRED’s specific questions about the operation, instead directing reporters to a video of Trump speaking about the deployment posted to X on Monday. “I want to thank ICE because they stepped in so strongly,” Trump said in the video. “They'll do great — and if that's not enough, I'll bring in the National Guard. We're not going to have the Democrats destroy our country.”
| Got a Tip? |
|---|
| Are you a current or former government employee with insight into this operation? We want to hear from you. Reach out to reporters securely via Signal using a non-work device: contact leahfeiger.86 and vittoria89.82. |
In an interview with CNN, Homan clarified that ICE agents will not be conducting standard baggage or passenger screening, instead supporting crowd management and general security operations. Trump also posted a directive to ICE agents on Truth Social, ordering them not to wear face coverings during their airport deployments. As part of the administration’s broader immigration crackdown, ICE teams conducting raids have regularly used masks and unmarked vehicles to conceal their identities.
In response to WIRED’s questions, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis said: “While the Democrats continue to put the safety, dependability, and ease of our air travel at risk, President 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.” Though both TSA and ICE fall under DHS, ICE remains fully funded thanks to the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill, even as funding for other DHS departments remains stalled amid the partial shutdown.
DHS did not respond to questions about whether ICE agents will carry out immigration enforcement actions while they are assigned to assist TSA, nor would the agency comment on what, if any, specialized aviation security training ICE agents have received to fill TSA roles. Last year, WIRED reported that airlines were selling passenger personal data to DHS, and The New York Times revealed that TSA regularly shares passenger information with ICE.
The nationwide deployment has already drawn sharp criticism from labor groups and elected officials. In a statement from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the union representing TSA workers, union president Everett Kelley said that “ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security. TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons, and threats specifically designed to evade detection at checkpoints — skills that require specialized instruction, hands-on practice, and ongoing recertification. You cannot improvise that.” Across social media, users have shared multiple clips showing ICE agents standing idle in airport terminals with no assigned duties.
New Jersey Democratic Senator Andy Kim, whose jurisdiction includes Newark Liberty International Airport (one of the hubs targeted in the deployment), wrote in a Bluesky post that “Americans don’t want ICE in our airports or in our communities. We just want Republicans to agree to fund TSA so workers can be paid and these lines can go down.”
Matthew Champion contributed additional reporting.
Updated 4:35 pm ET, 03/23/2026: This story has been updated to include comment from the White House and the San Francisco Police Department.
