(The Center Square) – On Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were deployed to two airports in Pennsylvania.
Reports surfaced from national outlets on Monday that President Donald Trump’s administration would send ICE agents to 14 airports across the country at Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, checkpoints amid the partial government shutdown.
Philadelphia International Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport were included on that list.
In a statement to The Center Square, Bob Kerlick of the Allegheny County Airport Authority confirmed that agents were present and its “leadership team remains in close contact with our federal partners at TSA and others as well as local law enforcement with Allegheny County Police.”
“Safety and security are always the top priority at airports around the country,” he said before deferring future questions about the matter to the federal government. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation and stay in contact with our law enforcement partners. How federal agencies operate is not something that any airport, including ACAA, controls.”
The partial government shutdown began on Feb. 14, as Democrats and Republicans in Congress have yet to reach a spending agreement to fund the agency. TSA officials have not been paid since the standoff began, while callouts have increased in recent days.
While ICE agents were present at Philadelphia and Pittsburgh International airports on Tuesday, most statewide elected officials contacted by the Center Square didn’t respond for comment and haven’t posted public comments on social media.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office, however, did respond, pointing to comments he made last week during a press conference about TSA agents working without a paycheck.
“The Congress of the United States needs to come together, work in a bipartisan manner and pay these TSA agents and get this done,” Shapiro said on March 19. “Look, I thought Leader Jeffries put forth a really smart proposal, which was to pay TSA and the other organizations, or pardon me, the other offices, while they continue to work through some of the responsible reforms that are needed at ICE. They could pass that tomorrow and alleviate the kind of headaches we’re seeing at Philly and other airports across the country.”
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., didn’t directly respond to The Center Square, but said during a telephone townhall Tuesday evening that he’s optimistic a deal will be reached this week, which would ease the strain on airports across the country.
“But I can’t promise, but I think the American people are fed up with these theatrical, close the government down and that the only people that suffer are the citizens, the voters and the people that don’t get paid,” he said.
The comment follows his post on social media on Monday afternoon pinning the blame on Senate Democrats for the ongoing shutdown.
“Senate Democrats have blocked DHS funding 5 times and our @TSA officers are bearing the cost. Many have been forced to leave the job, work second jobs, or stay home. On Sunday alone, PHL and PIT saw over 24% callouts,” McCormick wrote. “At both airports, TSA officers are depending on food pantries and community donations for meals. Enough. Fund DHS. Pay TSA.”
On Sunday, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., shared a headline from an NPR story about White House Border Czar Tom Homan confirming that ICE agents were going to be deployed to airports as delays mounted. His office did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, either.
“This mayhem came from a very specific choice to shut DHS down. Pure mass chaos that I refuse to vote for,” Fetterman wrote. “Can you imagine what this must be like for the UNPAID TSA employees and people that are desperate to make their flight??”
It remains unclear how long ICE agents will remain at these airports. DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told The Center Square on Monday the agency wouldn’t confirm the locations of its officers “for operational security reasons.”
In a lengthy email statement, Bis said the “Democrat shutdown” has forced the president to use “every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hours long lines at airports across the country—especially during this spring break and holiday season that is very important for many American families.”
She went on to describe the situation as “pointless” and “reckless,” and said deploying ICE to assist TSA agents will help “keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions.”
Some elected officials are taking a different approach and are delivering a more pointed criticism.
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Allegheny, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he opposes ICE agents being sent to Pittsburgh International Airport, which is located in his district. The Center Square contacted his office for an independent comment on Tuesday afternoon.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Deluzio’s Democratic colleague in the House whose congressional district includes the airport in Philadelphia, criticized legislative Republicans for blocking bills that would have excluded ICE and border patrol from DHS funding.
“Those are the parts of that agency or that department that have been used in these radical, lawless mass deportation efforts,” she said. “ICE is the main part of the agency, but we really can’t forget Greg Bovino, Customs and Border Patrol, who has been central to the killings, to the abuse, to the teargassing of kids.”
Bovino was commander-at-large for the border patrol until he left his post on Tuesday after facing a hailstorm of criticism for violent clashes between agents and protestors in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
