BWI-Marshall Airport travelers react to Trump's threat to deploy ICE agents

President Trump's proposed plan to install Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at airports didn't sit well with travelers WJZ met on Saturday.

Trump said ICE agents could be in airports as soon as Monday, according to his post on Truth Social, unless a deal is made to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

"I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before," Trump wrote.

The partial government shutdown has resulted in big staffing shortages for TSA, which in turn is causing delays at some airports around the country.

Reacting to Trump's plan

It's not clear exactly what Trump's pitch would look like, and TSA did not respond to WJZ's request for comment on this.

Some travelers, like Oprea Jackson, don't think the move is necessary.

WJZ met her as she was traveling back to Wisconsin.

"I think what we need to do is get the funding back, so that way we can bring back the TSA agents," Jackson said.

TSA workers have now missed out on their first full paycheck, and sick calls and other absences are starting to stack up.

Other travelers brought up concerns with ICE's conduct, especially after what happened in Minneapolis.

"If they were to somehow kind of tighten their ability to govern safely and effectively -- and not impact the citizens and others in harmful ways -- I think it could be useful," said Andwar Hughes-Crawford, who was traveling back home to Florida.

Cautious travelers

While the partial government shutdown hasn't appeared to impact security lines at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, travelers are still playing it safe.

Jackson said she got to the airport two-and-a-half hours early.

"I'm just making sure I'm here early enough," Jackson said. "You see the horror stories, especially in Atlanta."

Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans are some of the cities where long lines and waits have become a common sight at the airport.

However, some travelers, like the Mundy family, who traveled back to Maryland from Atlanta, lucked out.

"We have the TSA app, so we kept tracking that because we were concerned that it might be delayed," Albert Mundy said. "The app said 30-to-40 minutes, we were in line for about 40 minutes. It was fine."

TSA employs around 50,000 agents nationwide to screen passengers at airports.