Has ICE been deployed to PA airports? What to know on security in State College, beyond
Lines at State College Regional Airport are unaffected by the partial government shutdown that has led to Transportation Security Administration agents going unpaid, the airport’s top official said Monday.
TSA agents at some major airports have walked off the job, leading to long lines at security for flyers.
In response, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been dispatched to 14 major airports, including two of the three served by State College. That is unlikely to happen at State College, for now.
“We’ve got great people showing up to work,” said Ralph Stewart, State College Regional Airport’s interim executive director, of the unpaid TSA agents. “We feel very bad that they’re not getting paid, but they are showing up, doing their jobs.”
Stewart said he has not heard from the federal government about ICE deployments at State College Regional. President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said he’d send ICE to airports facing three-hour-plus security lines. State College has not — and rarely ever — seen significant wait times.
ICE agents have been sent to Chicago O’Hare and Philadelphia, both served by State College. They have also been sent to Pennsylvania’s other major airport, Pittsburgh International.
There are no reported ICE deployments at other Pennsylvania airports as of Monday afternoon.
What is going on with the TSA?
Airport security backups have received attention over the past week as a monthlong partial government shutdown collides with the busy spring break travel season.
Senate Democrats have refused to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, home of the TSA and the nation’s immigration agencies, since February, demanding reforms to the department in the wake of violent enforcement action and the killings of two Americans by immigration agents. Trump axed his Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, amid the uproar.
But Trump has reportedly refused to concede in negotiations with Democrats. On Sunday, Democrats told the president they’d fund all of DHS except for immigration enforcement, CNN reported. Trump turned them down, instead posting on his social media site that GOP senators shouldn’t budge until they pass a bill that would usurp power from state elections officials.
Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman, who regularly breaks with his own party on a host of issues, is the lone Democratic senator to support funding DHS without concessions.
Politico reported Monday that negotiations between senators and Homan are slated to continue this week.
How to see wait times
While airport security at State College is moving along as usual, it could be hit or miss with return trips.
The TSA has an app that tracks wait times. Philadelphia International Airport has its own online security wait time tracker.
