Vineyard clear of ICE presence at airport

As federal immigration officers are deployed to airports nationwide, Massachusetts has so far avoided the heightened presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at its aerial transportation hubs.

The Trump administration began deploying ICE agents to airports Monday to assist short-staffed Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, an agency where many personnel have quit or not shown up to work since pay was cut in February by the partial federal government shutdown. But so far, the Vineyard airport remains clear of the immigration agents’ presence. 

Geoff Freeman, Martha’s Vineyard Airport director, said there has been no indication of ICE at the Island airport. He also said there haven’t been any major disruptions at the Vineyard airport and no TSA officers have quit on the Island.

“The operation at the Vineyard has been going smoothly,” Freeman said. 

But TSA officers who remain have been working without pay. The partial government shutdown began in February from a congressional gridlock over the funding of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Democrats demanded changes to how immigration operations were conducted following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis in January, where major protests against ICE took place. 

As the impasse continues, President Donald Trump tied a shutdown deal to the passage of the SAVE America Act in a Sunday Truth Social post. The legislation before the U.S. Senate proposes requiring voters to prove U.S. citizenship for federal elections, which critics of the bill argued would restrict access to the polls for voters who are eligible to vote but don’t have ready access to documentary proof of citizenship.

Although there haven’t been issues at the Vineyard airport, Freeman said its staff are closely following the situation and it was too early to tell whether the partial shutdown would impact summer travel. 

Only Cape Air and Tradewind use the Island airport during the offseason and larger airlines, like JetBlue and American, fly to and from the airport during the busy summer months. Last year, there were around 1,200 flights during the offseason, which jumped to 2,800 in May. The number of flights at the airport last summer were 5,900 in June, 7,900 in July, and 9,100 in August with a drop off starting in September, which saw 6,000 flights. 

“All we can hope is they can come to a resolution soon and get these people paid,” Freeman said.

Although the federal government did not release an official list of airports where ICE personnel would be deployed, it’s been widely reported that agents would be at 14 airports around the nation, including LaGuardia Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, where agents arrived as early as 6 am Monday. 

White House border czar Tom Homan told CNN on Sunday that ICE agents will provide security support at airports with long wait lines, but wouldn’t be working TSA checkpoints for tasks like screenings at X-ray machines. 

Mike Gayzagian, president of AFGE Local 2617 New England, the regional TSA officers union, said his organization has been notified that “ICE will not be coming to any New England airports.” 

“As of this morning, no ICE agents have been seen at any of the checkpoints,” Gayzagian said in a statement to The Times  on Monday. “However, we continue to monitor the situation, and wait to see if this changes at some point during the week. We maintain there is no urgent need for their assistance because New England airports continue to remain stable. We urge the Congress to fund TSA and pay the dedicated officers who continue to come into work every day and keep New England airports running smoothly.” 

Congressman Bill Keating, a House Democrat whose district includes Martha’s Vineyard, said in a statement to The Times his party has put forward legislation to fully fund DHS while “withholding ICE funding until meaningful reforms and accountability measures are agreed upon.” 

Keating said there’s a “solution that keeps Americans safer while hammering out the real differences on immigration enforcement.” He also signed the discharge petition to attempt to force a vote on the funding bill after he returned to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

“TSA employees — just like the Coast Guard — are our neighbors and they and their families are valued members of our community,” Keating said. “They show up every day to keep Americans safe here on the Vineyard and across the nation and they deserve to be paid, respected, and supported — not used as political bargaining chips in an effort to advance [White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security advisor] Stephen Miller’s radical, anti-immigrant agenda.” 

Keating also accused Trump of using ICE as if it was “his personal police force” and that “many new recruits have not received adequate training — and we’ve seen the tragic consequences.” He underscored that sending ICE agents to handle airport security was not a solution but put travelers at risk. 

Lauren Bis, acting assistant secretary of the DHS Office of Public Affairs, blamed Democrats for the situation and said Trump was “using every tool available” to help American travelers who face hours-long lines at airports nationwide, highlighting the increase in travel from spring break and the holiday season. 

“This pointless, reckless shutdown of our homeland security workforce has caused more than 400 TSA officers to quit and thousands to call out from work because they are not able to afford gas, childcare, food, or rent,” Bis said in a statement. “While the Democrats continue to put the safety, dependability, and ease of our air travel at risk, President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted. This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions.”