PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — As spring break travel rush gets underway, President Donald Trump said ICE agents could be stationed inside airports, unless Congress reaches a deal to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security.
Oregon’s TSA agents are unsure of whether they’ll be able to pay rent on April 1st.
Democrats have held out on funding parts of DHS to make reforms for immigration enforcement and border patrol, but it has left TSA agents without pay for 36 days.
A democrat proposal Saturday to suspend the senate rules to pay TSA agents through the shutdown failed with members voting along party lines.
Across the country, the situation has resulted in mounting frustrations on all sides, as TSA employees have called out at a higher rate and TSA lines at major airports have reached new lengths.
According to , more than 400 TSA agents have quit across the country since the partial government shutdown began last month.
In efforts to combat the TSA employee shortfall, Trump posted to Truth Social Saturday morning saying, “If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country.”
In a separate post, he said he has already warned ICE of the plan, and told them to prepare to move in as early as Monday.
Cameron Cochems is the Idaho Regional Vice President for AFGE 1127, a TSA union operating in Oregon and several other states. He said as TSA agents continue without pay, are unsure how they will pay rent.
“It’s tough,” Cochems said. “There’s just a lot of people that are talking and not a lot of action, and no one knows what’s gonna happen, and it’s sad that our communities are the ones that are having to pick up the slack and support us right now. As federal employees, we should not have to look on our communities for help.”
He said bringing ICE agents to cover for TSA employees is likely not feasible.
“We are thorough administrative search and seizure and all of those different things, whereas ICE officers; they are law enforcement,” Cochems said.
“The union believes that these are important jobs that you have to be trained for, and so the union doesn’t believe that we should be able to just bring in new people and then they can take our jobs over right away,” he said. “These are jobs that, you know, take six months to a year to be able to be good at your job, you know? You have to be trained on how to run x-rays, how to check for fake IDs, how to pat people down, all these things that aren’t things that just anyone off the street can do on their own.”
At the Portland International Airport, the Port of Portland said they have seen more TSA agents calling out, but not enough to impact security operations.
A spokesperson told KATU that in regard to Trump’s post, PDX has not gotten any direct communication from the federal government about any efforts to bring ICE agents in.
Nonetheless, the idea is sparking a lot of reaction and controversy from travelers. Some believe it’s important to do whatever is necessary to keep airports running smoothly.
“Why not [bring in ICE agents] if it helps people get through the airport faster,” Donna White said. “We don’t have any problems with the ICE agents.”
“They did a lot of hiring of ICE agents who probably need something to do,” Brent Baker said.
Others called the idea “ridiculous.”
“You’re putting people with less training than most law enforcement officers,” said Colin Price. “They’re getting their jobs within 30 seconds of getting out of their application process, where you have people who are trained to do what they do in the airport and do it well.”
One thing all travelers seem to agree on is their concern for federal workers going without pay.
“Our government needs to come together and work together,” White said.
“Don’t let the country shut down just because you don’t wanna pay the salary of the people that are taking care of the people getting on planes,” Price said. “Get ‘em paid. Figure it out.”
As lawmakers have less than a week to come to an agreement before going on a two-week recess, Cochems is urging travelers to be patient.
“Don’t blame TSA agents. Blame Congress, blame the administration, because they’re the ones that are causing all these things. You know, TSA officers, we have a mission; it’s to protect the nation’s transportation system to ensure freedom of movement for people in commerce. We want people to get to their destinations quickly and safely.”
He added, “we should be paid. I don’t want to go to food banks or get gift cards from the community, and none of us do. We all want to get a paycheck. We don’t want a raincheck.”
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