Protesters demanded the immediate withdrawal of all Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as they marched with signs inside Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport on March 30.

The group of about 40 protesters shouted “Shut it down!” as they held up signs and marched inside Terminal 4 around 6 p.m. Other members of the group listened to speeches inside the terminal from community organizers and labor rights advocates.

After marching for a bit, the group left the airport shortly before 6:30 p.m.

Sky Harbor was one of several airports where ICE officers were deployed last week with the intent of helping address long wait times after a partial government shutdown left Transportation Security Administration employees going unpaid for more than a month, though some are skeptical of how much they’re helping.

ICE officers were seen at Sky Harbor on March 23 at both Terminals 3 and 4. The protesters were also calling for the federal government to freeze ICE’s funding.

Hours-long waits have drawn on at several airports across the country, with many seeing the longest wait times in the agency’s history.

See ICE agents fill in for missing TSA agents at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport

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Up until March 30, TSA workers were not getting paid during a partial government shutdown caused by gridlock over the Department of Homeland Security’s budget, the federal agency that oversees ICE officers.

Most TSA workers should soon receive back paychecks if they haven’t already, according to DHS, but it could take longer before airports return to a sense of normalcy. More than 500 TSA officers have quit since the government shutdown began, according to the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council.

As of the afternoon of March 30, TSA wait times were typical at Sky Harbor, ranging from 7 to 9 minutes depending on which checkpoint a traveler used.

Reporter Ray Stern contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter Helen Rummel at hrummel@azcentral.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Protesters rally against ICE officers at Phoenix airport