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Will ICE agents deploy to Salt Lake City airport amid partial shutdown?

An airport spokesperson said the long security lines that have plagued other airports across the nation have not hit Utah’s capital.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Passengers enter security screening at Salt Lake City International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Passengers enter security screening at Salt Lake City International Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026.

As federal immigration agents deployed to airports across the nation Monday to help with security during a partial government shutdown, there were no apparent signs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at Salt Lake City International Airport.

Lines appeared normal while only uniformed Transportation Security Administration agents staffed screening areas and exits.

Airport spokesperson Nancy Volmer, meanwhile, said she wasn’t aware of any ICE agents helping TSA officers in Utah’s capital. She deferred to TSA’s regional spokesperson for additional information, but the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Salt Lake City airport has remained unscathed by long wait times at security, Volmer said. TSA workers are still going unpaid since Congress failed to renew funding to the Department of Homeland Security last month amid a political fight over ICE practices.

The partial government shutdown has led to hourslong TSA lines at airports throughout the country — including at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where lines were over two hours long on Sunday.

President Donald Trump, who has blamed Democrats for the staffing shortages, announced on Saturday that ICE agents would help with airport security screenings starting Monday. Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Lauren Bis said in a statement that ICE officers who are currently funded by Congress will help minimize travel disruptions.

(Vincent Alban | The New York Times) Federal immigration agents patrol John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, on Monday, March 23, 2026. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were at some U.S. airports on Monday morning, after the White House border czar Tom Homan said that agents would be deployed to ease long lines for travelers.

Bis added that the shutdown has caused over 400 TSA workers to quit and “thousands to call out from work.”

“For operational security reasons, we are not going to confirm the locations of our officers,” Bis said in a statement. “Because of the Democrat shutdown, President Trump is using every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hourslong lines at airports across the country — especially during this spring break and holiday season that is very important for many American families.”

The Trump administration signaled that ICE assistance would be limited to large airports with long wait times, according to the Associated Press. On Monday, federal immigration officers were seen at the Atlanta airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Louis Armstrong International Airport outside New Orleans.

— Tribune journalists Chris Samuels and Jose Davila IV contributed to this story.

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