ICE Agents Assist TSA at Airports Amid Shutdown

0:00It's March 23rd. This is Vancouver News today, driven by AI. Federal immigration offices showed up at Atlanta's Hartfield Jaxson International Airport this week to help with security lines strained by the government shutdown. President Trump ordered them in to back up the Transportation Security Administration after travelers spaced huge delays nationwide. The deployment targets big airports with the worst backups, and officials say hundreds of immigration and customs enforcement agents will pitch in. Soon, these officers usually handle border checks, but now they're stepping up a TSA spot for tasks like ID verification. The partial shutdown hit the Department of Homeland Security on February 14th when funding lapsed. Hundreds of thousands of workers, including TSA screeners, went unpaid, leading many to call in sick or leave their jobs altogether. Democrats have pushback, demanding reforms like warrants for home entries by IC and clear uniforms without masks.

1:00Trump responded by telling agents to skip face coverings at airports, except around serious criminals. Meanwhile, travel headaches worsened, with a deadly crash in New York's LaGuardia Airport, where an air candidate jet hit a fire truck on landing, killing, two pilots and injuring dozens. The runway stays closed at least until 2 p.m., eastern time today, as disruptions ripple do the system.