Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents assigned to help ease long lines at airport security during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown will only conduct “nonsignificant” tasks such as guarding exits, border czar Tom Homan said.

“We’re simply there to help TSA do their job in areas that don’t need their specialized expertise such as screening through the X-ray machine,” Homan said on CNN’s "State of the Union" on Sunday, referring to the Transportation Security Administration that is in charge of airport security. “Not trained in that, won’t do that.”

Travelers are suffering through lengthy delays at major U.S. airports in recent weeks due to the budget impasse. Employees of TSA, which the Homeland department oversees, haven’t been paid for five weeks because of the partial shutdown, prompting some to call in sick. Democrats have repeatedly sought to fund TSA alone in response, but those efforts have been blocked by Republicans.

President Donald Trump posted on social media on Saturday that he was directing ICE agents to airports where “they will do Security like no one has ever seen before,” and added that they would conduct “immediate arrests” of any undocumented immigrants with an emphasis on Somalis.

Homan downplayed that aspect of the assignment, however, saying ICE has been present and conducting immigration enforcement at airports.

“It’s not going to change,” he said.

Their deployment comes as congressional Democrats and Republicans remain at a weeks-long impasse over funding for the department, which oversees the TSA. Lawmakers, who have remained at a stalemate over new guardrails for immigration enforcement, plan to meet Sunday to continue negotiations for the funding.

Homan said he was talking to ICE Director Todd Lyons and TSA officials to develop a plan by the end of Sunday that would go into effect Monday morning.

He said ICE agents could free up TSA agents who currently guard airport exits where travelers sometimes enter, he said.

“There are roles we can play to release TSA officers from the nonsignificant roles such as guarding an exit so they can get back to the scanning machines,” Homan said. “We’re just simply helping our fellow officers at TSA.”

Homan noted in a separate appearance on Fox News Sunday that ICE agents are not trained to scan luggage, “and we’re not going to be doing that. We are trained in security and be able to do that, and that hopefully will move the lines quicker.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaking on ABC’s "This Week," said that hundreds of TSA agents are not showing up for work.

Homan did not name specific airports where ICE agents will be stationed, but said the government will prioritize larger airports and those with the longest wait times that can last as long as three hours.

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(With assistance from María Paula Mijares Torres.)

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