Trump doesn’t rule out immigration enforcement at airports after ICE agents deployed

Trump doesn’t rule out immigration enforcement at airports after ICE agents deployed
Trump doesn’t rule out immigration enforcement at airports after ICE agents deployed
Ice agents look on as travelers stand in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, March 23, 2026 in Atlanta. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began fanning out at more than a dozen airports across the nation on Monday to assume some of the duties of Transportation Security Administration officers affected by a federal government funding crisis.

“What I see ICE agents doing is helping TSA plug the holes of security,” White House Border Czar Tom Homan told ABC News on Monday.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that the ICE agents assigned to airports will also continue to enforce immigration laws.

“They really are a high-level group of people and they love it because they’re able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country. That’s very fertile territory,” Trump said during a gaggle with reporters on the tarmac in Palm Beach, Florida. “But that’s not why they’re there. They’re really there to help.”

Homan said that if ICE agents see “illegal activity,” they will take action because they are federal law enforcement officers.

Asked whether the ICE agents will be carrying out immigration enforcement at airports, Homan said, “We’re not going to ignore illegal conduct in the airport whether it’s human trafficking, whether it’s alien smuggling with somebody that’s wanted, whether it’s … someone that they believe they have reasonable suspicion to talk to because they feel there’s a criminal activity in front of them.”

“Of course, anybody would need probable cause to make any arrests, but yeah, their law enforcement officers and they’re not going to ignore the law while we’re there,” Homan said.

“I’m leaving it up to the TSA Administrator, who’s an expert airport operations,” Homan added. “Where can we plug the holes? Where can we increase security, especially in this heightened security environment, because what’s going on the world? Where can we help you to move those lines and American people quicker to inspections while the same time maintaining security at the airport?”

As ICE agents began showing up at airports on Monday, Trump earlier posted a message on social media asking them to refrain from wearing masks while helping with airport security.

“I would greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS, when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports,” Trump said in his post, adding that he is a “BIG proponent” of ICE agents wearing masks when they “search for, and are forced to deal with, hardened criminals.”

Asked by reporters on Monday on Air Force One why he wants ICE agents to remove their masks at airports, Trump replied, “Because the people coming into the airport, typically speaking, aren’t murderers, killers, drug dealers, etc. There may be a few of them. But there aren’t many.”

Immigration officials wearing masks has been a key issue for critics in Trump’s nationwide mass deportation program.

Trump added that typical travelers at airports are “people that want to come into the country, and that want to leave the country, going to maybe their home countries, so I didn’t think it was an appropriate look for an airport.”

ICE agents were spotted by ABC News at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport early Monday.

The agents appeared to be helping with crowd control at the airport amid long lines of travelers trying to get through security. At one point, lines stretched outside the Atlanta airport’s terminals.

DHS funding battle continues

Democrats have blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to push for policy reforms to ICE, whose aggressive tactics in enforcing immigration laws have prompted protests and lawsuits across the country.

The DHS reforms that Democratic lawmakers have proposed include requiring ICE agents not to wear face masks, be equipped with body cameras and have warrants signed by a judge before entering homes and businesses.

Republicans have, so far, rejected those proposals.

ICE and TSA are both under the umbrella of DHS. But while ICE has remained funded through appropriations from Trump’s tax and spending bill passed last summer, key DHS agencies like TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard are left unfunded.

Approximately 60,000 TSA officers have gone over a month with partial pay and last week began getting no paychecks as the stalemate over DHS funding continues.

Some TSA officers have begun calling out sick or quitting as they missed their first paycheck since the shutdown began on Feb. 14. DHS said that more than 400 TSA officers have quit so far.

Confusion over duties of ICE agents

On Sunday, Homan said the deployment of ICE would largely free up TSA agents for specialized tasks, like passenger and bag screening.

Homan, however, said ICE agents are not trained to do specialized work like screening passengers and running X-ray machines.

“But there are roles we can play to release TSA officers from the non-significant role, such as guarding an exit, so they can get back to the scanning machines and move people quicker,” Homan said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Homan said that “ICE can check identification before people enter the screening area.”

But in an interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy seemed to contradict Homan.

Asked by Jon Karl, ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent, whether the ICE agents have any practical experience in manning airport security lines, Duffy said, “They run those same type of security machines at the Southern border, right? Packages come through or people come through. They run similar assets.”

Duffy added that ICE agents could also manage the flow of travelers through airport security and help TSA with administrative tasks.

“It depends on who shows up. Every single day will dictate how long these lines are,” Duffy said. “And you don’t know as travelers are trying to figure out, do I have to come an hour-and-a-half early? Do I have to come four hours early? They don’t know until the day of or the afternoon of their flight.”

Homan attempted to clarify what duties ICE agents would have at the airports during an interview on Monday with ABC News. Homan said that Duffy might have been referring to machines used for luggage and other packages that ICE agents already run at airports.

Homan told ABC News that ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) “have a footprint of all the airports, because that’s where we open investigations on currency smuggling and human trafficking.”

“So ICE is involved with baggage investigations on that. So there is a sort of screening,” Homan said.

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Trump says US and Iran have ‘major points of agreement,’ including no nuclear weapons

Trump says US and Iran have ‘major points of agreement,’ including no nuclear weapons
Trump says US and Iran have ‘major points of agreement,’ including no nuclear weapons
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, March 23, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump, after postponing U.S. strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure citing new negotiations with Tehran, said on Monday that talks will continue and that there are “major points of agreement.”

“They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon, that’s number one,” Trump told reporters in Florida.

“That’s number one, two and three. They will never have a nuclear weapon,” the president said. “They’ve agreed to that,” he added.

According to Iranian state media, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf said “no talks with the U.S. have taken place; reports claiming otherwise are fake news aimed at influencing financial and oil markets and distracting from the challenges facing the U.S. and Israel.”

Iran has previously committed not to build a nuclear weapon as part of negotiations with the West, yet continued to enrich nuclear material to levels nearing weapons grade.

Iran’s intent to build a nuclear weapon, according to Trump, was a central justification for the war.

This was despite the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon in the wake of last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer, which Trump said “obliterated” the country’s nuclear weapons program.

When asked on Monday how the U.S. would get Iran’s enriched uranium if these talks go well, Trump suggested Americans would go in to seize it. Experts previously told ABC News that a large American force on the ground would likely be needed to take the nuclear material, which is believed to be buried deep underground at facilities bombed by the U.S. last year.

“Very easy, if we have a deal with them, we’re going down and we’ll take it,” Trump said.

Trump also said he wanted to see a “very serious form of regime change” in Iran.

Over the weekend, Trump had issued an ultimatum to Iran to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face major attacks on its power plants and other energy sites.

Trump changed course on Monday morning, announcing on social media that he ordered the Defense Department to postpone the strikes for five days following what he described as productive conversations about ending the war.

Iran’s foreign ministry denied talks with the U.S., Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. is talking with a “top person” in Iran, but not the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

The president did not offer specifics on who exactly the U.S. is negotiating with, only saying he is “a man who I believe is the most respected.” Just on Friday, Trump had said there was “nobody to talk to” after U.S. and Israeli strikes killed much of the Iranian leadership.

Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, led the talks for the U.S., Trump said. The president added that the talks went “perfectly” and would continue by phone on Monday. He said that a meeting would take place “soon.”

“We’re doing a five-day period. We’ll see how that goes, and if it goes well, we’re going to end up with settling this, otherwise we just keep bombing our little hearts out,” Trump added.

Trump said there is a “very serious chance of making a deal,” but that he is not “guaranteeing anything.”

“All I’m saying is we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal,” he said. “And I think, if I were a betting man, I’d bet for it. But again, I’m not guaranteeing anything.”

Trump, when asked whether he believed Israel would abide by any peace deal, said that Israel would be “very happy.”

Trump’s pause on attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure prompted a positive reaction in the stock and oil markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared on Monday, and the price of oil dropped about 10% to about $90 a barrel.

Still, Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz remains in place.

When asked who will be in control of the strait after the conflict, Trump said it would be “jointly controlled.”

“Maybe me, me and the next ayatollah, whoever that is,” the president said.

Meanwhile, thousands more U.S. Marines and several Navy ships are heading to the Middle East, and the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in supplemental funding.

When asked whether the administration would still request that $200 billion if these talks end the war, Trump replied, “It would be nice to have.”

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Dow soars 1,000 points as Trump claims talks held with Iran

Dow soars 1,000 points as Trump claims talks held with Iran
Dow soars 1,000 points as Trump claims talks held with Iran
Photo taken on Aug. 12, 2024 shows the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange NYSE in New York, the United States. (Liu Yanan/Xinhua via Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — The Dow Jones Industrial average soared more than 1,000 points on Monday after President Donald Trump claimed “productive conversations” had been held between the U.S. and Iran.

The major stock indexes shed some of the morning’s gains by midday as a flurry of headlines about the Middle East conflict appeared to elicit volatile price fluctuations.

The peace talks — which Iranian officials denied — sent the price of oil plunging on Monday on hopes that negotiations could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end a weeks-long global energy shock.

The Dow surged 700 points or 1.5%, while the S&P 500 jumped 1.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 1.3%.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Supreme Court weighs RNC bid to disqualify late-arriving mail ballots

Supreme Court weighs RNC bid to disqualify late-arriving mail ballots
Supreme Court weighs RNC bid to disqualify late-arriving mail ballots
A mail-in ballot issued by Hudson County, New Jersey, for the 2024 U.S. general election is seen on September 22, 2024, in Hoboken, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/ABC News)

(WASHINGTON) — In a case with potentially major ramifications for the 2026 midterm elections and all federal elections going forward, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday is considering a Republican Party bid to prevent states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day even if they were postmarked on or before.

Thirty states plus D.C. and several U.S. territories have laws allowing tabulation of some late-arriving ballots provided that they were timely cast and received within a specified post-election timeframe, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The case before the justices centers on Mississippi’s acceptance of absentee ballots up to five days after Election Day so long as they were received by the Postal Service on or before.

The Republican National Committee, which brought the lawsuit, alleges the policy violates federal law establishing the Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the day for election of members of the House, Senate, and presidential electors, in specified years.

Republicans argue that the term “election” means both “ballot submission and receipt” and that Congress intended that it be completed on a single day.

“Allowing states to count large numbers of mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day undermines trust and confidence in our elections,” said RNC chair Joe Gruters in a statement on the case. “Elections must end on Election Day.”

Mississippi and several voter advocacy groups defending the state law insist “election” has historically meant when voters make their “choice” by marking and submitting their ballots — not necessarily when they are received and counted.

“The weight of the law and the weight of the precedent is on our side,” said Marc Elias, a prominent Democratic election law attorney representing some of the parties defending the Mississippi law.

A Supreme Court decision in favor of the RNC could upend voting policies and procedures in dozens of states five months before voters head to the polls for the midterm elections.

Voting rights advocates also warn that an abrupt change in policy could lead to widespread rejection of ballots that were properly cast by well-intended voters but experienced unintended delivery delays by the Postal Service or other circumstances.

Hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots in the 2024 general election arrived after Election Day but were still legally counted that year across 22 states and territories with a post-election grace period, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Many states that accept late-arriving absentee ballots implemented their policies during the COVID-19 pandemic when vote by mail surged in popularity and Postal Service delays raised concerns about inadvertent disenfranchisement.

Extended ballot receipt deadlines have also been aimed at helping active duty military service members and other Americans living overseas who cast their ballots from afar.

Elias said he believes the RNC suit — against a Republican-led state with minimal absentee voting — was part of a broader effort on the part of President Donald Trump and his allies to make it more difficult to vote by mail under the belief the practice favors Democrats.

“I don’t suspect that spending millions of dollars to affect the handful of ballots in the state of Mississippi that only allows excuse absentee voting anyway to be counted after Election Day is what the RNC is really after,” said Elias. “This is just a partisan effort to undermine mail-in voting.”

In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order that attempted to cut federal election funding to states that have mail ballot receipt grace periods, but it has largely been blocked by federal courts for now.

The president later said on social media that he is leading a “movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,” claiming, without providing evidence, that they lead to voter fraud.

Trump has also been pushing Republicans in Congress to approve the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, which would — in part — outlaw voting by mail for anyone without a legitimate excuse, such as military service, illness, or disability, making it impossible to vote in person.

Data on which party would potentially benefit from changes to mail ballot rules is not clear.

Most Americans, 58%, support allowing any voter to cast a ballot by mail, according to a Pew Research Center survey late last year. But there is sharp division among parties, with 83% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters favoring mail-voting with 68% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters opposed.

The Trump administration, which is not a party to the case, told the court in an amicus brief that it strongly supports a decision striking down Mississippi’s law and others like it.

“Ensuring all ballot boxes close on the same day eliminates incentives and opportunities for fraudulent abuse,” wrote Solicitor General John Sauer. “Leaving them open conflicts not only with the ordinary meaning of ‘election day,’ but also with the very integrity of the election.”

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a Republican, dismissed that claim in a filing with the court, arguing that neither ballot receipt nor ballot counting is part of the “election” and that both have historically extended beyond Election Day.

“Counting votes is not part of the election,” Fitch told the court. “That is why counting votes lawfully can and does occur after Election Day. So, too, with ballot receipt: it is vital — but it is not part of the election itself. So, states may do what the Mississippi legislature has done: make a ‘policy choice’ to require only that absentee ballots be mailed by election day.”

A decision is expected in the case by the end of June.

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Undocumented immigrant arrested in killing of Loyola University Chicago student: DHS

Undocumented immigrant arrested in killing of Loyola University Chicago student: DHS
Undocumented immigrant arrested in killing of Loyola University Chicago student: DHS
An undated photo of Sheridan Gorman who was shot and killed in Chicago on March, 19, 2026. (Courtesy of the Gorman Family)

(CHICAGO) — An undocumented immigrant from Venezuela has been arrested in the killing of a Loyola University Chicago student, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Sheridan Gorman, 18, was walking with friends near Tobey Prinz Beach Park, less than a mile from the university’s Lake Shore campus, in the early hours of March 19 when a man walked up to the group and shot Gorman, according to Chicago police.

“She had her entire life ahead of her — her education, her future, her family, the countless lives she would have touched,” Gorman’s family said in a statement. “All of that was taken in a moment.”

The suspect, Jose Medina, was arrested on Friday on charges including first-degree murder and is due at a detention hearing on Monday, police said.

DHS said it’s lodged an arrest detainer as the agency pushes for Medina to be kept behind bars.

DHS said Medina has been apprehended and released twice. He was first apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and released in May 2023, and the next month, he was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago and released, DHS said. The Chicago Police Department said it doesn’t provide criminal histories.

Gorman “was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “We are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods.”

Gorman’s family also commented on the immigration policies, saying, “We are gravely disappointed by the policies and failures that allowed this individual to remain in a position to commit this crime. When systems fail — whether through release decisions, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to act — the consequences are not abstract. They are real. And in our case, they are permanent.”

“Accountability must be complete,” the family said.

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LaGuardia Airport crash: Plane was traveling 93-105 mph at time of ground collision

LaGuardia Airport crash: Plane was traveling 93-105 mph at time of ground collision
LaGuardia Airport crash: Plane was traveling 93-105 mph at time of ground collision
An Air Canada Express plane sits on the tarmac after it collided with a fire truck on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — A regional Air Canada jet collided into a Port Authority airport vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, an on-the-ground crash that demolished the front of the airplane, killed two pilots, injured dozens of passengers and prompted the airport to shut down, law enforcement and aviation officials said.

At least 41 people were transferred to local hospitals Sunday night after the plane, which was operated by Jazz Aviation, struck a rescue-and-firefighting vehicle that had been “responding to a separate incident” at 11:47 p.m., a Port Authority spokesperson said.

The pilot and the co-pilot of the plane were killed in the crash, officials said. Two of the injured were Port Authority officers and the other 39 were passengers, officials said.

LaGuardia is closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday, the Port Authority said.

The collision happened shortly after the plane, Air Canada Flight 8646, which was carrying four crew members and 72 passengers, touched down from Montreal, according to Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia.

The ground vehicle — a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting — had requested permission and had been cleared by the air traffic controller to cross Runway 4 at taxiway Delta, according to audio recordings. Shortly after that permission was granted, an air traffic controller was heard telling the vehicle to stop several times right before the collision, according to the recordings.

Preliminary data shows the Air Canada plane was traveling between 93 and 105 mph when it impacted the fire truck, FlightRadar24 told ABC News.

All passengers have been accounted for, Garcia said, and an unaccompanied minor on the plane was reunited with their family.

Thirty-two of those who had been transferred were later released, Garcia said, adding that several others had serious injuries. Two Port Authority police officers who were injured — a sergeant and an officer — were in stable condition at the hospital, she said.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have responded to the scene.

Teams from Air Canada and Jazz Aviation are also headed to LaGuardia. Canadian authorities will be involved as a party to the investigation as the plane was operated by a Canadian carrier, but the NTSB will be leading the investigation since the collision occurred in the U.S.

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Ground stop briefly in place, control tower evacuated at Newark Airport after reports of smoke

Ground stop briefly in place, control tower evacuated at Newark Airport after reports of smoke
Ground stop briefly in place, control tower evacuated at Newark Airport after reports of smoke
The FAA Air Traffic Control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey, US, (Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(NEWARK, N.J.) — Ground stop briefly in place, control tower evacuated at Newark Airport after reports of smoke

A ground stop was briefly in place on Monday morning at Newark Liberty International Airport, where an air traffic control tower was being evacuated due to reports of smoke, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

An FAA spokesperson said there was no fire and the controllers evacuated the tower due to a burning smell from an elevator.

“Arrivals and departures are temporarily paused at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after air traffic controllers evacuated the tower because of a burning smell coming from an elevator,” the FAA said in a statement. “It happened around 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday, March 23.”

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State Department launches effort to counter cyberattacks, AI risks from Iran, others

State Department launches effort to counter cyberattacks, AI risks from Iran, others
State Department launches effort to counter cyberattacks, AI risks from Iran, others
The United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — The State Department has formally launched a new entity charged with anticipating and responding to dangers posed by Iran and other U.S. adversaries’ weaponization of advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, officials familiar with the matter tell ABC News.

The department’s Bureau of Emerging Threats has been tasked with safeguarding American national security against cyberattacks, the weaponization of space and similar malicious efforts, they said.

In addition to Iran, the officials identified novel threats from China, Russia, North Korea and foreign terrorist organizations as particular areas of focus. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the creation of the Bureau of Emerging Threats when he revealed his sweeping reorganization plan for the department nearly a year ago, but few specifics about its purpose have been revealed before now.

“The bureau will address not only the current threats we face today in cyberspace, outer space, critical infrastructure, and through the misuse of disruptive technology like AI and quantum, but those we will face in the decades ahead,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. 

Anny Vu, the senior official leading the bureau who also recently served as the Trump administration’s chargé d’affaires to China, said her team of experts will be “dedicated to leveraging foreign policy and all tools of national power” to protect U.S. interests.

Officials say the Bureau of Emerging Threats will include five divisions: the Office of Cybersecurity, the Office of Critical Infrastructure Security, the Office of Disruptive Technology, the Office of Space Security and the Office of Threat Assessment. 

The Iranian regime and its affiliates have a long history of using cyberattacks to target U.S. interests, and the American cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike says it identified an uptick in activity from pro-Iranian actors after the U.S. and Israel initiated military action against the country in late February.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is investigating at least one major attack believed to have been carried out by pro-Iran hackers since the conflict began–a breach of the American medical technologies company, Stryker.

The State Department formally notified Congress about the creation of the Bureau of Emerging Threats on Friday, the same day the White House released its national policy framework for artificial intelligence. 

The four-page blueprint calls on Congress to pass “minimally burdensome” laws governing the use of AI to override more restrictive state legislation. It also says lawmakers shouldn’t not seek to create any new federal agencies aimed at regulating AI.

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Jewish volunteer ambulances set on fire in London investigated as hate crime: Police

Jewish volunteer ambulances set on fire in London investigated as hate crime: Police
Jewish volunteer ambulances set on fire in London investigated as hate crime: Police
Firefighters at the scene in Highfield Road, Golders Green, London, after an apparent arson attack on four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service in London. (Photo by Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images)

(LONDON) — The Metropolitan Police in London is investigating an apparent arson attack on four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service, Hatzalah, in the early hours of Monday morning.

Officials said the arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.

No injuries were reported and the fires have been put out, police said. Nearby houses were evacuated as a precaution.

“This is a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on social media. “My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news. Antisemitism has no place in our society.”

Police Superintendent Sarah Jackson said in a statement that no arrests have been made, but they believe there are three suspects involved.

“We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern and officers remain on scene to carry out urgent enquiries,” Jackson said. “We are in the process of examining CCTV and are aware of online footage. We believe we are looking for three suspects at this early stage.”

Police said there were reports of explosions in the fire, which they said is believed to be linked to gas canisters on the ambulances.

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Dozens injured, 2 pilots dead in ground collision at LaGuardia; airport closed

LaGuardia Airport crash: Plane was traveling 93-105 mph at time of ground collision
LaGuardia Airport crash: Plane was traveling 93-105 mph at time of ground collision
An Air Canada Express plane sits on the tarmac after it collided with a fire truck on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — A regional Air Canada jet crashed late on Sunday into a Port Authority airport vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York, a collision that demolished the front of the airplane, killed two pilots, injured dozens of others and prompted the airport to shut down on Monday morning, law enforcement and aviation officials said.

At least 41 people were transferred to local hospitals after the plane, which was operated by Jazz Aviation, struck a rescue-and-firefighting vehicle that had been “responding to a separate incident,” a Port Authority spokesperson said in a statement. Two of the injured were Port Authority officers and the other 39 were passengers, officials said.

“The airport will remain closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday to allow for a thorough investigation,” the authority said.

The collision happened shortly after the plane, Air Canada Flight 8646, which was carrying four crew members and 72 passengers, touched down, according to Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia.

Jazz Aviation, which is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, issued a statement confirming the incident, saying it happened at 11:47 p.m. Air Canada said on social media that it was “aware of an incident” and that Jazz Aviation would issue updates as needed.

All passengers have been accounted for, Garcia told reporters at a pre-dawn press conference at the airport. An unaccompanied minor on the plane was reunited with their family, she said.

Thirty-two of those who had been transferred to the airport were later released, Garcia said, adding that several others had serious injuries. Two Port Authority police officers who were injured — a sergeant and an officers — were in stable condition at the hospital, she said.

The regional jet involved in the collision had traveled from Montreal to New York, according to Flightradar24, a flight information tracker. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Preliminary information appeared to show that the flight had landed on Runway 4 and was rolling down the runway when the collision occurred.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to investigate the crash. Chair Jennifer Homendy will serve as the on-scene spokesperson, accompanied by member John DeLeeuw, according to the NTSB. Those investigators were on site by the time Garcia spoke at about 4:30 a.m. ET, according to the Port Authority.

New York City Emergency Management said in a statement that its first responders were present at the airport, adding that the initial response from the Fire Department had ended.

“Units will remain on scene with a watch line that includes one engine, one ladder, and one battalion chief,” the NYCEM’s statement said. “The NTSB is on scene leading the investigation.”

The pilot and the co-pilot of the plane were killed in the crash, multiple officials briefed on the situation said earlier. The New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s Office was on-scene early on Monday, and officials were awaiting confirmation of the identities of those who were killed. Next of kin were to be notified before their names were released, officials said.

The ground vehicle — a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting — had requested permission and had been cleared by the air traffic controller to cross Runway 4 at taxiway Delta, according to audio recordings. Shortly after that permission was granted, an air traffic controller was heard telling the vehicle to stop several times right before the collision, according to the recordings.

At least 18 flights have been diverted from LGA following the airport’s closure, with most being sent to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport or to New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport.

A union official had earlier told ABC News that there were two individuals who had been injured in the crash, saying they were Port Authority police officers assigned to firefighter duty at LaGuardia Airport.

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