Viral interview captures what traveler really thought about ICE agents helping TSA at airports

A Brooklyn man went viral for his take on the deployment of ICE agents to airports nationwide to assist TSA agents as the DHS shutdown consequences played out over the last several weeks.

Chris Scali briefly spoke with News 12 at Newark Liberty International Airport, saying ICE agents were "good" and not bothering anyone - comments that quickly gained widespread attention online.

"I walked into the airport, I saw a very small line and all I thought was, Now I gotta be here for three hours," said Scali. "I started seeing the ICE agents walk, and I was like, They just look like they're here to help."

"As long as everything goes smooth in the airport and everyone gets on their planes - God bless," he said.

"I wasn't too sure what the fuss was [about]. Am I crazy? I don't know," he added.

"I was so surprised because I didn't really say much. I just said the obvious, like if they're here to help, they're here to help. I just wanted to get to the beach," he added.

Scali said it was the best flight he's ever been on - and that the plane was half empty.

"I'm glad it went smooth. That's all I cared about," he added. 

"I haven't traveled in so long, but I don't want to deal with a headache. It makes you not want to travel. Then you get there and everything's smooth - easy peasy."

New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani posted to X on Tuesday, writing, "ICE doesn't belong at our airports."

U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries shared a similar sentiment earlier this week.

"The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports, all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them," said Jeffries.

In the wee hours of Friday morning, the Senate advanced a new, last-minute deal to reopen most of the DHS, 42 days into the shutdown that was spurred by the Trump administration's immigration operations in Minnesota.

It was an agreement that largely gave Senate Democrats what they wanted - no funding for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But it lacked the stringent reforms they desired, such as requiring judicial warrants or requiring agents to unmask, as Fox News Digital has previously reported.

While the deal mirrors previous attempts by Democrats to pass similar legislation that carved out immigration funding, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued Democrats are still walking away empty-handed in the policy fight over immigration enforcement. 

Fox News Digital's Alex Miller contributed reporting.