Despite being demonized by politicians and protestors, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have helped save two children’s lives in recent weeks and pitched in at the nation’s busiest airports.
An ICE agent came to the rescue of an unresponsive 1-year-old boy at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Wednesday, March 25, while helping to support Transportation Security Administration operations amid the Congressional showdown over funding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
President Donald Trump asked ICE agents to help with security measures and crowd control as long as TSA lines snaked through the nation’s busiest airports last week—this, while lawmakers continued to block funding for DHS agencies and make TSA agents and other federal workers go without pay for more than a month.
U.S. Senators approved a bill at 3 a.m. Friday morning that included zero funding for ICE and U.S. and Customs and Border Protection, before leaving for a two-week break, prompting Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to reject the proposal and offer a temporary funding measure.
In response, Trump on Friday signed an Executive Order to pay TSA agents, adding, “America’s air travel system has reached its breaking point. This is an unprecedented emergency situation.”
DHS shared the news on social media and said TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday, March 30.
President Trump has made the decision that echoes what TSA’s frontline employees and the millions of Americans enduring terrible wait times at our airports are saying: the Democrat DHS shutdown has become an emergency.
TSA officers are now losing their homes and cars, struggling…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 27, 2026
In a short video shared on X, DHS added: “This is the side of @ICEgov that the media won’t show you.”
This is the side of @ICEgov that the media won’t show you. pic.twitter.com/OrlHMoJ2nx
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 27, 2026
ICE agents offered travelers water and helped maintain order at some of the nation’s busiest airports, and passengers welcomed the assistance as security lines hit several hours during the staffing shortage and peak Spring Break travel.
“If it’s going to make things go faster, I’m happy about it, but I just wish they would finish up with the government shutdown and fund TSA and we wouldn’t have this,” one passenger in Atlanta told LiveNOW from FOX earlier in the week.
Travelers at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport were happy to see ICE agents helping out, with some telling Fox News Digital they had been waiting in line for three to four hours.
“I think it’s great, having someone out here moving it forward,” a passenger waiting outside named Lancet told Fox News Digital. “I’m glad they’re here, and I feel safe, I feel completely safe.”
As the overflow line to get through TSA snaked into an underground portion of the airport, with a barely functioning air conditioning system, another passenger April told Fox: “They gave us water, and they said good morning when we walked in. I’m sure they’re just as miserable down here.”
On Wednesday, at JFK Airport, an infant became unresponsive and stopped breathing as travelers waited in hours-long lines. The ICE agent jumped into action to help save his life.
“The panic of the child’s family and nearby passengers were heard by an ICE agent stationed at a checkpoint,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security shared on social media. “This heroic officer immediately sprang into action—rushing toward the cries, taking the child, and performing a Heimlich maneuver that restored the infant’s breathing after nearly two minutes.”
At JFK Airport, as travelers waited in hours-long lines, an infant became unresponsive and stopped breathing. The panic of the child’s family and nearby passengers were heard by an ICE agent stationed at a checkpoint.
This heroic officer immediately sprang into action—rushing… pic.twitter.com/JOJaFSEIZK
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 26, 2026
DHS added that the officer’s “extraordinary bravery embodies the selfless service of DHS law enforcement.”
“Despite the endless smears and lies told about them by sanctuary politicians and the media, our ICE officers show up every day to protect the Homeland and their fellow Americans,” said recently confirmed DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Security footage from inside the airport showed a passenger in a TSA PreCheck line holding the boy in his arms. The child’s arms go limp and the father can be seen calling for help, sparking panic among other people in line.
The agent heard people yelling and sprinted to the scene. The father handed the child to the officer and he began providing first aid. After a few seconds, the child started breathing again.
First responders arrived on scene with medical equipment to further evaluate the toddler, who was determined to be healthy enough to fly.
The Official White House Rapid Response X account also shared the video, adding:
“These are the HEROES that Democrats have spent months demonizing as enemies. They’ve literally shut down part of the government because of their hatred for these brave Americans. It’s truly sickening. God bless the Patriots of @ICEgov.”
These are the HEROES that Democrats have spent months demonizing as enemies. They've literally shut down part of the government because of their hatred for these brave Americans.
It's truly sickening.
God bless the Patriots of @ICEgov. https://t.co/iDII33zL8h
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 26, 2026
This is the second child ICE officers have helped during a medical emergency in the last month, DHS shared in a news release.
On Feb. 20, off-duty ICE law enforcement agents helped resuscitate a 4-year-old boy who had fallen into a hotel pool.
The agents were eating at a restaurant in Plymouth, Minn., when a panicked woman asked them for help. She said a 4-year-old child was unresponsive after being pulled from a hotel swimming pool.
The agents immediately responded and performed CPR for several minutes. The child regained consciousness and they stayed with him until local police and EMS personnel arrived on scene. They evaluated the child and transported him to a local medical center for treatment.
ICE received a written letter of recognition from the Plymouth Police Department, commending the agents for their heroic actions and professionalism during the emergency situation.
“If our agents had not been there and stepped up, this would have been a tragic outcome,” Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said following the Feb. 20 rescue. “Because of their training, these two agents were able to save a life.”
