Demonstrators march through Sky Harbor to protest ICE at the airport

It may not be clear what exactly Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are supposed to be doing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, but protesters made it very clear Monday evening that they want them gone.

About 5 p.m. on Monday, a group of about 35 protesters gathered outside of Terminal 4 at the airport, chanting, “What do we want? ICE out! When do we want it? Now!” They then marched through the pre-security areas of the airport, waving signs. The demonstration was organized by community members and UNITE Here Local 11, which represents many airport workers.

“We’re here today because we want ICE out of Sky Harbor, completely,” said Dania Duran, one of the organizers for the protest. “We also want to make sure that our TSA agents are completely and dutifully paid.”

Andrew Hinkle, another protester, said: “I think we would all be doing a hell of a lot better if we spent a little bit less money on ICE and a little bit more on health care and affording rent.”

The Trump administration deployed ICE agents to airports nationwide last week to support Transportation Security Administration operations amid the ongoing partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Both ICE and TSA are subagencies of DHS. ICE was first deployed to the airport on March 23, though they were mostly seen just standing around.

The move comes as growing numbers of TSA employees have called out sick or resigned entirely after going weeks without pay due to a lapse in funding for the agency and others under the DHS umbrella. Now in its 46th day, the shutdown has become the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.

After a few speeches, protestors began marching through the departure doors and into baggage claim. They chanted slogans such as “Donald Trump has got to go” and “ICE out of Sky Harbor” as they marched up the escalators onto the third floor of Sky Harbor, where airport security is located. 

In response to the chants of protesters, one traveler shouted, “ICE all the way, baby, let’s go,” as he rolled his suitcase. Other travelers either ignored the protest or stared and recorded on their phones. Besides chanting and marching, protestors caused little disruption in the terminal. As protesters circled the terminal, a digital sign above them showed that all security checkpoint wait times were below 10 minutes.

Protesters continued their demonstration with another lap inside the airport before heading back outside through Terminal 4’s departure doors, dispersing soon after.

ICE agents were not seen in the areas where protestors marched. According to Sky Harbor information personnel, ICE agents were on the other side of security. Travelers who passed through the airport earlier Monday said ICE agents were checking identification at airport security, a job traditionally done by TSA workers. ICE did not respond to a request for comment.