United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are present at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer
President Donald Trump on Monday championed the idea of deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents along with other federal agents to airports. He compared himself to the inventor of the paper clip
Democrats have proposed legislation that would specifically fund TSA while the negotiations are ongoing. Republicans have refused. Trump told reporters Monday that he told Republicans they can't support any Democratic proposal unless they also agree to pass his voting restrictions bill. NBC News confirmed that Trump shut down the deal.
"ICE thug thought bubble: 'Hey we're getting paid to stand here, hang out, and look for people to kidnap, while unpaid TSA agents are working,'" mocked lawyer David R. Lurie.
He was reposting Bloomberg Opinion columnist Connor Sen's photo that showed ICE agents leaning against a pole and chatting with a crowd of passengers standing around.
"Well, ICE has arrived. Excuse me, but how are ICE agents roaming the airports and standing around helping with the long line situation?" said influencer Christopher Webb.
ICE was filmed snatching a woman at the airport with what looked like her young daughter. She was thrown to the ground by the agents and was sobbing as onlookers demanded to see their names and badge numbers.
However, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, later noted that the arrests in San Francisco's airport aren't related to the deployment of ICE agents to airports. He said, they have been doing such arrests at airports "for months now."
One satire account showed a photo of an overweight federal agent and mocked, “We’ll be confiscating all food, beverages and snacks for your safety.”
The Tennessee Hollar posted an Associated Press video showing ICE agents "wandering around aimlessly" at the Atlanta airport. The account joked their deployment "has solved everything."
"ICE guys beating up the books at the airport's Hudson News," quipped cartoonist Brian McFadden.
"ICE guy smashing Dunkin' Donuts display case and emptying clip into rainbow sprinkle donuts," mocked author Rob Delaney.
"ICE guy teargassing a Chili's Too for harboring burritos," followed historian Kevin M. Kruse.
"Will ICE let you through the TSA line if you have $50,000 in a Cava bag," joked Sarah Posner, host of the podcast "Reign of Error" in reference to Trump advisor Tom Homan allegedly accepted a $50,000 bribe in a paper bag ahead of the 2024 election.
"ICE agents are truly rent-a-cops," lamented defense attorney Julius Kim.
Marisa Kabas, who authors "The Hand Basket" Substack, said she was sent a report from someone with a photo of the agents standing high, leaning over a handrail while watching people.
"I saw 4 ICE agents within 5 minutes just walking around. One had a 'federal agent' patch, one had an 'ICE' patch, the other two were not clearly marked...They’re in the mezzanine just watching us. Not doing anything that I can tell besides just having a presence. ... Ton of police to help," the person said.