* First, some background from the Associated Press…

A bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security failed to advance Friday in the Senate amid growing concerns about long lines to get through screening at some of the country’s biggest airports.

Democrats declined to provide the support needed to move the funding measure toward final passage. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would offer an alternative measure Saturday to fund just the Transportation Security Administration, which screens passengers and luggage for hazardous items. That too is likely to fail as lawmakers hold a rare weekend session.

Behind the scenes, work toward resolving the standoff intensified Friday as White House border czar Tom Homan met for the second consecutive day with a bipartisan group of senators. Democrats are demanding changes to immigration enforcement practices by federal agents following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

* The reforms being pushed by US House and Senate Democrats…

- Targeted Enforcement – DHS officers cannot enter private property without a judicial warrant. End indiscriminate arrests and improve warrant procedures and standards. Require verification that a person is not a U.S. citizen before holding them in immigration detention.

- No Masks – Prohibit ICE and immigration enforcement agents from wearing face coverings.

- Require ID – Require DHS officers conducting immigration enforcement to display their agency, unique ID number and last name. Require them to verbalize their ID number and last name if asked.

- Protect Sensitive Locations – Prohibit funds from being used to conduct enforcement near sensitive locations, including medical facilities, schools, child-care facilities, churches, polling places, courts, etc.

- Stop Racial Profiling – Prohibit DHS officers from conducting stops, questioning and searches based on an individual’s presence at certain locations, their job, their spoken language and accent or their race and ethnicity.

- Uphold Use of Force Standards – Place into law a reasonable use of force policy, expand training and require certification of officers. In the case of an incident, the officer must be removed from the field until an investigation is conducted.

- Ensure State and Local Coordination and Oversight – Preserve the ability of State and local jurisdictions to investigate and prosecute potential crimes and use of excessive force incidents. Require that evidence is preserved and shared with jurisdictions. Require the consent of States and localities to conduct large-scale operations outside of targeted immigration enforcement.

- Build Safeguards into the System – Make clear that all buildings where people are detained must abide by the same basic detention standards that require immediate access to a person’s attorney to prevent citizen arrests or detention. Allow states to sue DHS for violations of all requirements. Prohibit limitations on Member visits to ICE facilities regardless of how those facilities are funded.

- Body Cameras for Accountability, Not Tracking – Require use of body-worn cameras when interacting with the public and mandate requirements for the storage and access of footage. Prohibit tracking, creating or maintaining databases of individuals participating in First Amendment activities.

- No Paramilitary Police – Regulate and standardize the type of uniforms and equipment DHS officers carry during enforcement operations to bring them in line with civil enforcement.

* CNN…

Thirteen US airports will see Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints on Monday, a source with knowledge of the plans told CNN.

The 13 airports include:

- Chicago-O’Hare International Airport
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York)
- LaGuardia Airport (New York)
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
- Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
- Newark Liberty International Airport
- Philadelphia International Airport
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- Pittsburgh International Airport
- Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida)

The list is subject to change and different plans have been made for how to utilize the agents at each airport, the source said. For example, some ICE agents may monitor lines of passengers while others help with bins.

* One thing working in O’Hare’s favor is that its security lines haven’t been nearly as long as those in Houston, Atlanta and San Diego. On Air Parking estimates passengers spend about 45 minutes on average getting through security. Reddit users have been reporting quick lines.

* NBC Chicago…

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security was deploying ICE officers to several U.S. airports, including O’Hare.

O’Hare Airport was expected to see an estimated 75 officers over numerous shifts starting Monday, Johnson said, expressing “concerns about the deployment.” Midway Airport was not expected to see such deployments.

“We will closely monitor the deployment and use every tool we have to ensure that people, no matter their immigration status, can travel to and from Chicago safely and without harassment from the federal government,” Johnson said in a statement.

* Sun-Times…

Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA agents and other federal workers in Illinois and Wisconsin, said with the agents’ deployment raises security concerns for passengers.

“Our members at TSA have been showing up every day, without a paycheck, because they believe in the mission of keeping the flying public safe,” Kelley said in a statement. “They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.”

Darrell English — president of AFGE Local 777, which represents Chicago TSA workers — said the danger also extends to the agents’ lack of training regarding aviation security. Adding ICE agents to the mix could slow the screening process for travelers, since they lack the seven months of training TSA agents go through before screening solo, according to English.

“It’s always concerning when you hear language like that in terms of changing the security that’s being implemented,” English said. “It leaves a hole… TSA understands the threat to aviation and the flying public, and it also takes years of understanding that to be efficient and secure.”

* More…

* Block Club | ICE Agents Working At O’Hare Airport Monday As Feds Seek To Shorten Long TSA Lines: The agents seen working at O’Hare Airport wore masks, despite Trump saying in a social media post that he’d “greatly appreciate” if the agents didn’t wear masks while working at airports. Many federal immigration agents wore masks and sought to remain anonymous during major immigration programs — including Operation Midway Blitz — in recent months.

* NYT | ICE to Aid Airport Security Amid Partial Shutdown, Border Czar Says: The agents are expected to conduct tasks to free up Transportation Security Administration agents to handle processing travelers, according to an official from the Homeland Security Department, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the location of ICE agents.

* The Hill | Homan: ICE officers will not assist with airport security scanning amid TSA staffing shortage: White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers will not be directly involved in security scanning measures at airports, a day before agency officials will begin assisting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees. “Wherever we can provide extra security, I don’t see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine, because we’re not trained in that,” Homan told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

* CBS Chicago | ICE agents seen at Chicago O’Hare International Airport amid long TSA wait times and lines: A passenger who had just arrived at O’Hare said he saw agents “just hanging around.” “Talking. They were just in the exit area, not even the TSA area per se. I guess guarding people where you would see them if they went in the wrong directions,” the passenger said. A TSA worker by baggage claim identified a man dressed all in black inside a security exit downstairs as an ICE agent. That man did not have any insignia identifying him as an ICE agent.

* NBC Chicago | Chicago travelers prepare as Trump pledges to place ICE agents at airports: According to officials, more than 400 TSA workers have left their posts since the partial government shutdown began in February, leading to long lines and canceled flights at airports across the U.S.

* The Hill | Republicans reject Democrats’ effort to pay TSA by suspending Senate rules: Senate Republicans on Saturday voted against an unusual procedural gambit by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) to suspend the Senate rules and advance a bill through the Rules Committee to fund the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The motion failed by a party-line vote of 41 to 49. It needed 60 votes to succeed.

* Fox Chicago | Spring break travel surges at Chicago airports as TSA staffing concerns grow: According to the Chicago Department of Aviation, more than 3.76 million people are expected to pass through security checkpoints at O’Hare and Midway, between Thursday, March 19 and Monday, March 30. TSA recommends getting to the airport two hours early for domestic flights. For those traveling internationally, it’s recommended you get to the airport at least three hours in advance.