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

A Brooklyn antheral went viral for his instrumentality connected the deployment of ICE agents to airports nationwide to assistance TSA agents arsenic the DHS shutdown consequences played retired implicit the past respective weeks.

Chris Scali concisely spoke with News 12 astatine Newark Liberty International Airport, saying ICE agents were "good" and not bothering anyone — comments that rapidly gained wide attraction online.

Fox News Digital spoke with Scali connected Thursday portion helium was vacationing successful the Bahamas; helium said he'd arrived with a person astatine the airdrome 4 hours early.

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"I walked into the airport, I saw a precise tiny enactment and each I thought was, Now I gotta beryllium present for 3 hours," said Scali. "I started seeing the ICE agents walk, and I was like, They conscionable look similar they're present to help."

He added, "I mean, the past I knew, radical were frightened to spell to airports years ago. The much information [and] security, the better. That's conscionable the mode I feel. I don't truly attraction who was determination to help."

Chris Scali of Brooklyn, New York, went viral aft helium expressed enactment for ICE agents who were helping retired astatine Newark Liberty International Airport successful New Jersey amid the DHS shutdown.  (Chris Scali)

"As agelong arsenic everything goes creaseless successful the airdrome and everyone gets connected their planes — God bless," helium said.

Scali said helium felt their beingness was conscionable "common sense," noting that each clip helium goes to an planetary airport, helium sees customs agents and borderline patrol present.

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"I wasn't excessively definite what the fuss was [about]. Am I crazy? I don't know," helium added.

The sports betting influencer of "Sports By Scal" connected YouTube said a person texted him the interview, telling him it was each implicit X, which Scali does not have. He said galore radical were sending him the clip.

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"I was truthful amazed due to the fact that I didn't truly accidental much. I conscionable said the obvious, similar if they're present to help, they're present to help. I conscionable wanted to get to the beach," helium added.

"I was truthful amazed due to the fact that I didn't truly accidental much," said a New York antheral astir the beingness of ICE agents astatine airports to assistance with assemblage power and information enactment management. "I conscionable said the obvious, that if they're present to help, they're present to help." (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Scali said it was the champion formation he's ever been connected — and that the level was fractional empty.

"The wintertime successful New York was rough, truthful I needed to get away. I needed to beryllium connected a beach. I haven't got distant successful a agelong time," helium said.

"Me and my girl, we conscionable wanted to beryllium down, unbend connected the beach, person a mates of drinks, bask ourselves — you know," said Scali. "The past clip I went connected abrogation was astir apt six months ago, truthful this was good deserved."

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"I'm gladsome it went smooth. That's each I cared about," helium added. 

"Because that's the thing, right? It's like, you know, each the anxiousness starring up to going to the airport," said Scali. 

"I haven't traveled successful truthful long, but I don't privation to woody with a headache. It makes you not privation to travel. Then you get determination and everything's creaseless — casual peasy."

"As agelong arsenic everything goes creaseless successful the airdrome and everyone gets connected their planes — God bless," said 1 New York traveler astir the other assistance for airdrome security.  (Matthew Hoen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

While Scali expressed a favorable presumption of ICE agents astatine airports, Democratic lawmakers criticized the determination by the Trump administration.

New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani posted to X connected Tuesday, writing, "ICE doesn’t beryllium astatine our airports."

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

"The past happening that the American radical request are for untrained ICE agents to beryllium deployed astatine airports, each crossed the country, perchance to brutalize oregon successful immoderate instances termination them," said Jeffries.

"I haven't traveled successful truthful long, but I don't privation to woody with a headache. It makes you not privation to travel. Then you get determination and everything's creaseless — casual peasy."

President Donald Trump precocious Thursday said helium would motion an enforcement bid to "immediately wage our TSA Agents successful bid to code this Emergency Situation" and "quickly halt the Democrat Chaos astatine the Airports." 

In the wee hours of Friday morning, the Senate precocious a new, last-minute woody to reopen astir of the DHS, 42 days into the shutdown that was spurred by the Trump administration’s migration operations successful Minnesota.

Arriving U.S. citizens and Green Card holders basal successful enactment to wide migration astatine Newark airdrome successful New Jersey connected Monday, March 9, 2026, amid the partial authorities shutdown.  (Fox News Digital)

It was an statement that mostly gave Senate Democrats what they wanted — nary backing for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But it lacked the stringent reforms they desired, specified arsenic requiring judicial warrants oregon requiring agents to unmask, arsenic Fox News Digital has antecedently reported.

While the woody mirrors erstwhile attempts by Democrats to walk akin authorities that carved retired migration funding, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued Democrats are inactive walking distant empty-handed successful the argumentation combat implicit migration enforcement. 

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"We've been trying for weeks to money the full thing," Thune said. "And, I mean, successful the end, this is what they were consenting to hold to. But again, it's antithetic [in] that it has zero reforms successful it. I mean, they got nary reforms connected DHS, which they could person had if they had been consenting to enactment with america a small spot connected that."

Fox News Digital's Alex Miller contributed reporting.