TRENTON—Governor Mikie Sherrill warned on Sunday that the Trump administration's plan to deploy ICE agents to Newark Liberty International Airport appears to skirt federal law. The Governor said in a statement that the deployment starting March 23 would use agents who lack required Transportation Security Administration certification to perform passenger screening functions.

Under federal law, the TSA Administrator must certify all personnel conducting passenger and property screening. ICE agents lack this certification and, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, lack the months of specialized training required to detect explosives and weapons at checkpoints.

"You cannot improvise that," said Everett Kelley, national president of AFGE, the union representing 47,000 TSA officers nationwide, including Newark Liberty’s Local 2222. "TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons and threats specifically designed to evade detection at checkpoints. Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one."

AFGE Council 100, the local representing Newark TSA officers, did not issue a specific statement on the deployment as of Sunday evening. The Port Authority Police Department, which maintains primary law enforcement jurisdiction at Newark Liberty, did not respond to requests for comment on whether officers would facilitate ICE agent access to secure airport areas.

Senate Documents Reveal ICE Training Cuts

Sherrill's warning comes amid the release of documents from the US Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The February 23, 2026 whistleblower memorandum revealed that ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations training was cut from 72 days and 584 hours in fiscal year 2025, to 42 days and about 330 hours in fiscal year 2026. It also showed that 16 practical examinations were eliminated from the curriculum including "Judgement Pistol Shooting," "Determine Removability," "Encounters to Detention" and "Criminal Encounters."

The documents appear to contradict testimony given under oath to Congress by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons on February 12, when he said training was augmented with "six 12-hour days" rather than reduced. Ryan Schwank, a career ICE instructor who resigned in February, testified publicly that the training program is now "deficient, defective and broken."

White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday that ICE agents will assist with "moving security lines along and guarding exit doors" rather than operating X-ray machines or conducting primary screening. However, DHS’s Office of the Inspector General reported just last month that "persistent silos amongst DHS operational components still exist and foster resource duplication and inconsistent outcomes" across TSA, ICE and Customs and Border Protection agencies.

Jurisdictional Conflicts at Newark Liberty

Customs and Border Protection maintains statutory jurisdiction over ports of entry, including Newark Liberty's international terminals. CBP's Port Director for Newark did not respond to questions about potential jurisdictional conflicts with ICE agents deploying to the airport.

At Newark Liberty, where 41 flights were delayed and 8 canceled on Sunday morning, the deployment creates legal complications. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates the airport on state property that falls under Governor Sherrill's Executive Order restricting ICE activity, which the Trump administration is suing to block in federal court.

More than 400 TSA officers have resigned nationwide since the Department of Homeland Security shutdown began on February 13, with absentee rates reaching 10 percent nationally and 29 percent at John F. Kennedy International Airport. On Saturday the Senate rejected Democratic legislation to reopen TSA and pay workers, with the House of Representatives set to vote on a stopgap funding measure on Tuesday that could end the shutdown before the full ICE deployment takes effect.

Homan said on Sunday that "discussions are ongoing" about how many ICE agents will deploy to specific airports, including at Newark Liberty. The specific terminal assignments within Newark Liberty were not disclosed. Terminal B handles most international arrivals while Terminal C serves primarily United Airlines domestic and select international flights. Terminal A manages domestic and regional flights.

Sherrill: Fund TSA, Not ICE

Sherrill directed criticism at Washington Republicans rather than ICE agents themselves, saying "it's time for Donald Trump and Washington Republicans to do their jobs and fund TSA." The governor's position aligns with Hudson County Executive Craig Guy's January executive order blocking ICE civil enforcement on county property, as well as with similar municipal restrictions in Jersey City, Hoboken, Kearny and North Bergen.

Federal law requires TSA Administrator certification for any personnel performing passenger screening functions, a requirement that ICE agents deployed Monday will not meet.

Sources

• U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Minority Staff, "Summary of Documents Newly Received from DHS Whistleblowers," memorandum (February 23, 2026)

• Joseph Cuffari, Management Challenges 2026, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (January 9, 2026)

• United States Code, Title 49, Section 44901 (Aviation Security), Office of the Law Revision Counsel (current as of 2026)

• Everett Kelley, statement on ICE Deployment to Airports, American Federation of Government Employees (March 22, 2026)

• Mikie Sherrill, "Statement by Governor Mikie Sherrill on Reports of ICE at U.S. Airports," press release (March 22, 2026)

• Tom Homan, statement to FOX8 Live (March 22, 2026)

• Ryan Schwank, testimony to Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations/CBS News interview (February 23, 2026)

• CBS News, "ICE training deficient, defective and broken" (March 22, 2026)

• FOX8 Live, "Trump to deploy ICE officers to airports starting Monday" (March 22, 2026)

• NBC News, "TSA workers miss another paycheck" (March 22, 2026)

• NJ.com, "Newark Airport delays, cancellations hit hundreds of flights" (March 22, 2026)

• The Guardian, "Trump to deploy Ice agents to airports to address TSA absences" (March 21, 2026)

• Business Insider, "Airport security line wait times this weekend" (March 22, 2026)