ICE agents arrive at Atlanta airport Monday morning

ATLANTA – ICE agents have arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to help manage growing security lines. 

What we know:

FOX 5’s Lindsay Tuman reports the agents arrived just before 6 a.m. Monday.

The deployment follows an announcement from President Donald Trump, who said the agents would be sent to assist the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) during the ongoing partial government shutdown. This move comes after the Senate failed to pass a bill over the weekend that would have funded the Department of Homeland Security, including the TSA.

The backstory:

Since the shutdown began at the end of January, travelers have seen wait times steadily increase. On Sunday, security wait times in Atlanta peaked at approximately three hours. The Department of Homeland Security reports that 400 TSA agents have quit since the start of the shutdown, and thousands more are calling out sick. Hartsfield-Jackson’s general manager, Ricky Smith, noted last week that around 34% of the airport’s TSA staff had called out as the funding impasse continues.

What they’re saying:

While stationed at the airport, ICE agents are expected to report directly to TSA leadership. Their primary role is to assist with line management to help move passengers through the terminal more efficiently. According to Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, these agents are not supposed to conduct any form of immigration enforcement while on this assignment.