Dozens of protesters demanded the immediate withdrawal of all Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport as they marched inside Terminal 4 on March 30. The group of about 40 protesters shouted “Shut it down!” as they held up signs and protested at around 6 p.m. Beforehand, other members of the group listened to speeches near the terminal from community organizers and labor rights advocates.
“We are not disposable,” advocate Hayden Nguyen said. “We are not illegal, and we are not going anywhere.”
Nguyen, the child of Vietnamese immigrants, said they joined alongside the crowd not only to show the Trump administration their anger toward the deployment of ICE agents in airports across the country, but as a sign of camaraderie with immigrants at Sky Harbor that day.
The line of protesters wove between spring travelers at the airport, with many filming on their phones. Many brandished signs reading, “We will defend our neighbors,” and “ICE Out.” The day’s demonstration came on the heels of the latest No Kings protest on March 28, which saw thousands of people march in the streets of metro Phoenix in opposition to the Trump administration.
After marching to the terminal’s security checkpoints and back to baggage claim, most protesters left shortly before 6:30 p.m.
Sky Harbor was one of several airports where ICE officers were deployed last week with the intent of helping address long wait times after a partial government shutdown left Transportation Security Administration employees going unpaid for more than a month, though some are skeptical of how much they’re helping.
ICE officers were seen at Sky Harbor on March 23 at both Terminals 3 and 4. The protesters were also calling for the federal government to freeze ICE’s funding.
Sky Harbor officials did not respond to comment when asked if ICE officers were still actively working at the airport on March 30, but a sign remained posted at Terminal 4 alerting travelers that airport officials were notified that ICE officers would be helping to process passengers at security.
Democratic state Sens. Catherine Miranda and Lauren Kuby made appearances at the protest.
“We don’t want ICE on our streets, in our family’s homes and now not in our airports,” Miranda said.
Hours-long waits have drawn on at several airports across the country, with many seeing the longest wait times in the agency’s history.
As of the afternoon of March 30, TSA wait times were typical at Sky Harbor, ranging from 7 to 9 minutes depending on which checkpoint a traveler used.
Up until March 30, TSA workers were not getting paid during a partial government shutdown caused by gridlock over the Department of Homeland Security’s budget, the federal agency that oversees ICE officers.
Most TSA workers should soon receive back paychecks if they haven’t already, according to DHS, but it could take longer before airports return to a sense of normalcy. More than 500 TSA officers have quit since the government shutdown began, according to the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council.
Reporter Ray Stern contributed to this article.
Reach the reporter Helen Rummel at hrummel@azcentral.com.
