You could argue that putting airport security under a unionized government agency was a mistake. I certainly think so. Airlines have an extraordinary incentive to ensure that flying is as safe as possible, and could easily fund airport security, with the added incentive that the process be fast and efficient.
Instead, here we are, with the TSA being weaponized by the Democrats to increase the pain on ordinary citizens, the TSA workers having to work for God knows how long without pay, and the airlines groaning under the weight of delays and cancellations.
๐จ BREAKING: BEFORE and AFTER ICE!
โ Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 24, 2026
The Atlanta airport TSA wait times have absolutely PLUMMETED, and travelers might not actually miss their flights thanks to ICE
I mean, this is simply incredible. Trump just sent in ICE and they DID IT, Americans are grateful! ๐บ๐ธ
H/tโฆ pic.twitter.com/qyFslnJNnZ
Trump's temporary solution is to deploy ICE agents to the airports to help speed the security process, and it appears to be working, and working very quickly. Lines have gone from hours to under 1 hour, sometimes mere minutes.
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ง๐'๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง ๐๐ก ๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ฆ
โ M.A. Rothman (@MichaelARothman) March 24, 2026
Yesterday Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson had six-hour lines. TSA agents were calling out by the thousands. Democrats were holding press conferences about ICE "brutalizing" travelers.
Today aโฆ pic.twitter.com/PKOGXOtpb2
Democrats are FURIOUS, and scaremongering like you wouldn't believe. Having demonized ICE for months, calling them the Gestapo, claiming that they kill people indiscriminately, they have convinced some in their base that the mere existence of ICE agents at the airport is a threat to public safety.
If Hakeem Jeffries believes that ICE is going to kill people at the airport like he claims hereโฆ
โ Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) March 22, 2026
Then why arenโt he and other Democrats rushing to fund TSA???
pic.twitter.com/kC6WDiPXrY
The irony is that most Americans have never had an interaction with an ICE agent, and suddenly, they are getting to meet them, and they turn out not to be the ravening monsters that the Democrats have claimed. It's especially amusing because most of us don't have the most pleasant interactions at airport security, and long wait times have made the whole experience worse.
๐จ BREAKING: The Democrats are furious after realizing American travelers by-and-large LOVE having ICE assisting TSA lines in airports
โ Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 23, 2026
One woman realized the fake news propaganda was wrong!
"I WAS concerned...but they're not bothering us, so let's get it done!" ๐ฅ
"I like thatโฆ pic.twitter.com/7yKZeY5pFO
The ICE presence is upgrading the experience mightily. This means that a lot of Americans' views on ICE might change dramatically and in a positive direction.
๐จ JUST IN: Sen. Cory Booker is MELTING DOWN over ICE stepping in at airports โ and itโs getting attention fast ๐๐ฅ
โ Commentary ๐บ๐ธ Tom Homan (@HomanNews) March 24, 2026
Booker blasted the move, calling it an โoutrageโ and questioning ICE being involved in airport operations.
Meanwhileโฆ
๐ Wait times are DOWN
๐ Lines areโฆ pic.twitter.com/84Er6nVwjz
JUST IN: Sen. Cory Booker is MELTING DOWN over ICE stepping in at airports โ and itโs getting attention fast ๐๐ฅ
Booker blasted the move, calling it an โoutrageโ and questioning ICE being involved in airport operations.
Meanwhileโฆ
๐ Wait times are DOWN
๐ Lines are moving
๐ TSA can focus on screening
Results vs. outrage. ๐บ๐ธ
While some politicians complainโฆ
Others are actually fixing the problem in real time.
There are so many ironies to this, not the least of which is that in every airport, there are signs telling passengers to look out for human traffickers because so many children and young women are moved through airports, bound to be turned into sex slaves. The TSA was never designed to look for that sort of thing, but ICE agents in many cases are.
๐จ ITโS OFFICIAL: Tom Homan confirms ICE will now look for CRIMINALS going through the airports, on top of assisting TSA
โ Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 24, 2026
LFG! ๐ฅ
โWe're gonna arrest criminals going through the airport, we're going to look for human trafficking, s*x trafficking, money smuggling!โ
โWeโre NOTโฆ pic.twitter.com/gjQVH78flp
No wonder many Democrats are freaked out. If ICE can rescue some victims of human trafficking, yet another Democrat grift, associated with the illegal immigration they so love to protect, it will be yet another victory for Trump.
๐จ JUST IN: ICE agents were just spotted actively ASSISTING Americans through TSA at Houston airport
โ Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 23, 2026
Democrats wanted you to believe ICE was there to TERRORIZE families
In reality, theyโre helping, and Americans appreciate it ๐บ๐ธ๐๐ป
pic.twitter.com/pIDpFd3KpA
Democrats are doing their best to scare people by claiming that airports are now being turned into ICE checkpoints, which begs the question: why not? If you are here legally, no problem. If not, why should airports be sanctuary zones?
๐จBASED: Man claims President Trump's Administration ordered TSA to hand over all passenger names to ICE: "This should scare the h*ll out of you." pic.twitter.com/7xtt7PDUvL
โ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ก๐๐๐ฃ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐จ ๐บ๐ธ (@GoldenAgeTimes2) December 14, 2025
"If ICE thinks you might be deportable, the airport becomes the trap."
Maybe, I don't know, try notโฆ
Democrats are making their case that no illegal immigrant should be deported, which is not the median opinion among normal people. And if people see that ICE is not abusing its authority, the major case against it begins to collapse.
๐จ BREAKING: President Trump just gave the PERFECT answer to the fake news on ICE
โ Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 23, 2026
"Why not wear masks in the airport, but do it when they're out in the country?!"
TRUMP: "Typically, people at the airport aren't M*RDERERS, K*LLERS, DRUG DEALERS!" ๐ฅ
"There may be a few of them,โฆ pic.twitter.com/41UP0003rG
BREAKING: President Trump just gave the PERFECT answer to the fake news on ICE
"Why not wear masks in the airport, but do it when they're out in the country?!"
TRUMP: "Typically, people at the airport aren't M*RDERERS, K*LLERS, DRUG DEALERS!" ๐ฅ
"There may be a few of them, but there are many people that want to come into the country or that people want to leave the country going to maybe their home country."
"So I didn't think it was an appropriate look for an airport."
"I think it's a VERY appropriate look when they're out on the street trying to find one of the 11,000 m*rderers that sleepy Joe Biden led into our country!"
The propaganda against ICE has been slowly working, as Americans were tired of all the controversy. Trump's brilliant move to put ICE in airports could turn out to be a public relations boon to ICE and a disaster for the Democrats.
Chuck Schumer, yesterday: No one trusts that ICE is going to make things better at airports.
โ Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) March 24, 2026
Local Philadelphia station, today: โThis is an empty line right now. Yesterday this was all the way back to the garage." pic.twitter.com/kALwzhvs8H
Pravda will, of course, put ICE under the microscope and highlight every glitch, and the Democrats may be forced to send their brownshirts out to disrupt airports, if they dare. But that would be a very risky move, both because most Americans have never seen how ICE has been harassed, and nobody would be sympathetic to people disrupting travel.
Not to mention that the risk to activists would rise dramatically, with serious legal consequences.
.@POTUS on deploying ICE to airports amid the Democrat DHS Shutdown:
โ Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 23, 2026
"I want to thank ICE because they stepped in so strongly. They'll do great โ and if that's not enough, I'll bring in the National Guard. We're not going to have the Democrats destroy our country." pic.twitter.com/co86KDbwco
Best of all? It appears that the idea of doing this was crowdsourced. Clay Travis was discussing the airport chaos, and a caller suggested deploying ICE because it is already funded, and the idea went to the top.
It is the most Trump thing ever.
Editor's note: If we thought our job in pushing back against the Academia/media/Democrat censorship complex was over with the election, think again. This is going to be a long fight. If you want to join the conversation in the comments -- and support independent platforms -- why not join our VIP Membership program? Choose VIP to support Hot Air and access our premium content, VIP Gold to extend your access to all Townhall Media platforms and participate in this show, or VIP Platinum to get access to even more content and discounts on merchandise. Use the promo code FIGHT to join or to upgrade your existing membership level today, and get 60% off!

Join the conversation as a VIP Member