Sacramento airport has ‘no plans to use ICE,’ SMF officials say

Sacramento International Airport is not experiencing significant security delays during the partial government shutdown, according to a news release.

Published on March 23, 2026

Art

"Leap" greets travelers at Terminal B at Sacramento International Airport.

Martin Christian

The Abridged version:

  • Sacramento International Airport released a statement Monday morning, saying that it is not expecting federal immigration authorities in its airport security lines.
  • Federal immigration officers are expected to appear in airports across the country starting Monday, amid the partial federal shutdown.

Federal immigration officers are anticipated to be deployed to airports across the country starting this week, but Sacramento International Airport does not appear to be among them.

In reaction to the partial shutdown of the federal government, over the weekend President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take a role in airport security. ICE is anticipated in at least 14 different airports, including Atlanta, two in New York, New Orleans, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Phoenix and Fort Myers, Florida, Reuters reported.

SMF officials released a statement Monday morning that ICE is not expected to have a presence at the airport.

“As of Monday morning, there are currently no plans to use ICE to support TSA at SMF,” the news release stated.

People on escelator
Visitors ride the escalator in Terminal B at Sacramento International Airport in November 2025. (Martin Christian)

While callout rates among airport security staff have led to hours-long wait times at some airports, SMF is not currently experiencing significant delays, according to the release.

“Staffing callouts have remained minimal, and security wait times are staying consistent with what they were prior to the shutdown,” the airport stated.

Felicia Alvarez is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She’s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, health care and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets. 

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