Dozens of ICE officers to be deployed to O’Hare Airport, Chicago’s mayor confirms

Dozens of federal immigration officers are expected to be deployed at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after President Donald Trump ordered agents to help the Transportation Security Administration during a government shutdown.

Here’s what travelers should know and expect:

How many ICE agents were being sent to Chicago?

As of Monday morning, several agents were already seen at the Chicago airport. At least two officers wearing gear labeling them as “ICE” were seen in O’Hare’s Terminal 3 Monday morning and more were seen in Terminal 2. Meanwhile, two Homeland Security Investigations officers were seen near a baggage claim exit in Terminal 1.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security was deploying ICE officers to O’Hare, along with other U.S. airports. An estimated 75 officers were expected in Chicago across numerous shifts starting Monday, Johnson said, expressing “concerns about the deployment.”

“We will closely monitor the deployment and use every tool we have to ensure that people, no matter their immigration status, can travel to and from Chicago safely and without harassment from the federal government,” Johnson said in a statement.

Midway Airport was not expected to see such deployments.

What will the ICE agents do at airports?

Federal agents are a routine presence at international airports, where Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving travelers and Homeland Security Investigations agents handle criminal cases tied to smuggling, trafficking and fraud.

What’s unusual in the current moment is their visibility at TSA security checkpoints, a role typically handled by transportation security officers rather than federal investigators.

“According to DHS, ICE personnel deployed at O’Hare are expected to perform non-screening support functions, including monitoring exit lanes, making routine passenger announcements (such as reminding travelers to remove liquids from their bags), assisting with queue management, and related activities intended to allow TSA officers to remain focused on passenger and baggage screening,” Johnson’s statement read.

Meanwhile, White House border czar Tom Homan said in Sunday news show interviews that the increased role of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at airports was “a work in progress.”

The priority, he said, was “the large airports where there’s a long wait, like three hours.”

Homan said immigration officers, as an example, could cover exits currently monitored by TSA agents, freeing them to work screening lines. Another option, he said, was having ICE agents check identification before people enter screenings areas.

“We’re going to be a force multiplier,” Homan said, while also acknowledging there were limits.

“I don’t see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine, because we’re not trained in that,” he said. He pledged to have “a plan by the end of today, where we’re sending — what airports we’re starting with and where we’re sending them.”

Trump on Monday also directed ICE officers not to wear face coverings in their work at airports.

In a social media posted, the president said he supports ICE officers wearing masks when dealing with “hardened criminals” but suggested it isn’t necessary when assisting with the “MESS at the airports.”

Why are ICE agents being sent to airports?

Monday’s deployments came as hundreds of thousands of Homeland Security workers, including from the TSA, U.S. Secret Service and Coast Guard, have worked without pay since Congress failed to renew DHS funding last month. That’s led many TSA agents to call in sick — or even quit their jobs — as financial strains pile up. The staffing shortages have forced some airports to close checkpoints at times, with wait times swinging dramatically for travelers.

Trump said on Sunday that he would order federal immigration agents to airports to assist TSA by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs unless Democrats agreed to fund the DHS. Funding for the department lapsed Feb. 14, as Democrats refused to fund ICE as well as Customs and Border Protection without changes to their operations in the wake of the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

But Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 50,000 TSA employees, condemned Trump’s plan, saying in a statement that ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security.

“Our members at TSA have been showing up every day, without a paycheck, because they believe in the mission of keeping the flying public safe,” Kelley said Sunday. “They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.”

What is the scene at O’Hare Airport?

Johnson noted that there have been no significant delays at O’Hare, but urged travels to continue providing extra time.

“We have been in communication with President Derrell English of Local 777 TSA union and thank all of the workers who continue to show up and do their jobs despite extraordinarily difficult conditions incited by the Trump administration. In Chicago, we’re going to keep standing on transparency, dignity, and the right to move freely without threat and intimidation by ICE agents,” Johnson said. “We will continue to work with airport and airline staff and TSA agents to maintain a safe process for travelers flying in and out of O’Hare.”