ICE Agents Spotted Making the Line at the Airport Burger King Even Longer

Over the weekend, the Trump administration announced that ICE would be deployed at 14 major airports across the U.S. to “help” with overwhelmed TSA security lines, due to staff shortages caused by workers not being paid during the partial government shutdown—which Republicans keep blaming on Democrats despite the GOP currently controlling all three branches of government. Airports in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and more are struggling to manage security lines that wrap around baggage claim so many times they lead out of the building. Unsurprisingly, not only are the deployed ICE agents not helping to reduce the wait times, they are in fact doing…absolutely nothing! Just chilling, posing a potential threat to more American citizens, and making the line for the airport Burger King even longer. Also, reportedly, Cinnabon! Good job, guys.

While those with brain cells noted that the presence of ICE would only escalate an already chaotic situation for workers and travelers, Trump insisted that ICE would be the only way, that is, unless Democrats agreed to his SAVE America Act, which would not only give more funding to DHS but also suppress the voting rights of married women and trans people.

So, not only does this deployment do nothing to solve the actual problem, but the presence of ICE also serves to instill more fear in immigrants and people of color. Trump claimed ICE agents could assist TSA by monitoring lanes or checking passenger IDs. So now he wants ICE agents to check IDs? When before, it seemed there was a blind mandate to detain anyone and everyone they possibly could?

“Trump’s secret police are now stationed at airport checkpoints,” NAACP National President Derrick Johnson said in a statement to CNN. “They are inadequately trained, armed, and instructed to profile people based on race and accent.” 

So what are travelers saying about their ICE-enhanced airport experiences thus far? According to users on Threads, they’re hogging all the Cinnabon icing. 

“NYer here. Especially terrifying because now ICE is at all our airports. They’re standing around and eating Cinnabon. The lines are still 5 hours long,” one user on Threads wrote. “At the airport. ICE agent is absolutely going to town on a Cinnabon. He got icing on his gun and everything,” wrote another. Jezebel could not independently verify these sightings, but they sound correct.

So while the currently unpaid TSA agents are dealing with unprecedented lines and security screenings, the paid ICE agents are merely “monitoring the situation,” and by “situation,” I mean a half dozen strawberry cheesecake Churro Sticks and a double chocolate mocha Chillata. A CNN correspondent also reported that “ICE agents standing around at LaGuardia Airport. One was seen wearing a mask and another ordering a coffee at Starbucks.”

Atlanta Airport… looks like ICE wandering around aimlessly has solved everything… 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/8fOz2OOYjV

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 23, 2026