ATLANTA (AP) — Federal immigration officers have been seen at an airport in Atlanta after President Donald Trump said he’d deploy agents to supplement the Transportation Security Administration during a government shutdown that has caused long lines at security checkpoints across the country.
On Monday morning, a handful of federal agents were seen by The Associated Press near busy lines at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
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.
Trump said Sunday he would order federal immigration agents to airports to help with security.