CNN’s Dana Bash Confronts Border Czar Tom Homan on Trump Sending ICE to Airports: ‘How Well Thought Out’ Could This Plan ‘Possibly Be?!’

CNN’s Dana Bash grilled White House Border Czar Tom Homan on Sunday morning about Trump’s decision to send ICE agents to airports.

In response to the partial government shutdown that has left the Department of Homeland Security’s funding in limbo since Feb. 14, Trump declared via Truth Social that ICE agents will be deployed in less than 24 hours to assist TSA officers at airports nationwide.

Homan, who Trump said is at the helm of the operation, joined CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday for an examination into the logistics of the operation.

“How is that going to work?” Bash asked. “Are ICE agents going to move into American airports starting tomorrow, Monday?”

While Homan confirmed Trump’s plan, he could not offer details such as the number of agents to be deployed and where — as the plan is actively being developed in conjunction with ICE Director Todd Lyons and TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill: “We will put together a plan today, and we will execute tomorrow.”

When Bash questioned the preparedness of ICE operations for TSA responsibilities, asking, “Are ICE agents even remotely trained to handle security at airports?”, Homan jumped to the defensive. He emphasized that ICE agents will not perform tasks that TSA is specifically trained to do, such as use of the X-ray machine, but will instead do the jobs the tasks that are not “specialized” so that TSA agents can focus on those roles.

“ICE agents are assigned at many airports across the country already,” he said. “They do a lot of investigation, criminal investigation on smuggling at airports. But there’s—you got TSA agents covering exits, people that enter through the exits. Certainly, a highly trained ICE law enforcement officer can cover an exit and make sure people don’t go through those exits, entering the airport through the exits. And stuff like that relieves that TSA officer to go to screening and to reduce those lines.”

Bash questioned how TSA could be prepared to execute a still incomplete plan within less than 24 hours, but Homan pushed back.

“Again, ICE has been at airports across the country for a long time,” he said. “It’s just expanding those things. Look, it doesn’t—how much of a plan does it mean to guard an exit to make sure no one comes through that exit? I mean, we’re talking about security options. And these officers are well-trained in security and they’re well-trained in identifications. And, look, we’re going to do what we can to help TSA move those people through the line.”

Finally, Bash asked about whether ICE would simultaneously be performing immigration enforcement at the airport, not just “crowd control.”

“We do immigration enforcement at airports all the time. So, is that going to change? It’s not going to change,” Homan said before quickly shifting gears. “This is about helping the men and women at TSA. They have lost several hundred employees. The lines are really slow because of the shutdown. This is about going to—helping TSA do their mission and get the American public through that airport as quick as they can, while adhering to all the security guidelines and the protocols.”

Some airport lines across the country are currently as long as three hours, and more than 400 TSA officers have quit since Feb. 14 with national callout rates skyrocketing to 10 percent.

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