ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents at LaGuardia Airport in New YorkMelissa Bender/NurPhoto/AP
Like many Americans, Amanda Moore spent a lot of time this week in Houston’s airports. For much of the past year, Moore has reported on the federal law enforcement agencies that President Donald Trump has deployed to cities around the country. So when Trump announced he was sending in ICE to—supposedly—help deal with the hours-long airport security lines caused by the partial government shutdown, she set out to learn what the agents were really up to.
As it turns out, the answer was often: not much. The ICE agents were “sometimes discouraging people from cutting in line, or ushering people up escalators,” Moore reports in a new video for Mother Jones. “Other times, they’re just sitting around chatting with each other.”
Early Friday morning, the Senate voted to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security, but so far, House Republicans are refusing to go along. Meanwhile, Trump is claiming he will unilaterally pay TSA agents, even without congressional approval. Either way, it’s not clear when or if ICE will be leaving the airports. Some ICE agents in Houston told Moore they don’t expect to depart anytime soon.
