American citizens who thought they were immune from reckoning with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been rudely awakened by the newest travel nightmare: ICE is in the airport.

As if the prospect of playing high-altitude roulette weren’t stressful enough, now some of the nation’s busiest airports are staffed by ICE agents, purportedly to fill gaps left by more than 450 Transportation Security Administration officers who, largely unpaid since mid-February, have called it quits and gone home. As of Monday, more than 3,200 TSA officers, or nearly 11 percent of the force, didn’t show up for work. Those still at their jobs are working without pay — and we thank you for your service.

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