Four days ago, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were deployed to 14 major US airports to support Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff. This deployment occurred amidst ongoing congressional debates about ending the partial government shutdown, which has led to severe TSA staffing deficits and record-long security wait times.
However, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday his directive to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “immediately compensate” TSA personnel, aiming to alleviate the extensive queues at airports.
According to two sources familiar with the initiative, Trump intends to pay unpaid TSA employees using funds from the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” legislation he enacted last year.
A CNN source indicated that the speed at which TSA workers receive their checks will depend on the internal review process to utilize these bill funds for their compensation.
Shortly after Trump’s declaration, a legislative shift began on Capitol Hill, with the Senate unanimously approving, during an overnight session, funding for most of DHS, including the TSA.
The proposed bill still requires approval from the House of Representatives before the affected DHS agencies can resume full operations.
With the situation still unresolved, ICE agents continue to manage lengthy security lines and distribute water to weary travelers. It remains unclear if the deployment of ICE agents, initiated at Trump’s request to mitigate the disarray, has significantly improved the situation, especially as wait times are again increasing as the weekend approaches.
On Wednesday, DHS confirmed that ICE agents have begun checking traveler IDs at some airports. They have also been deployed to guard entry and exit points, and assist with logistics and crowd management after completing “standard TSA training curriculum.”
White House border chief Tom Homan stated Sunday that ICE agents are not trained for specialized security screening tasks, such as operating X-ray machines. Instead, their role is to undertake simpler duties, thereby ideally freeing up more TSA personnel for critical screening functions.
Quantifying the direct impact of ICE agents’ presence on travelers is challenging, as numerous variables, including passenger volume and available security checkpoints, influence wait times.
On Wednesday, the White House press secretary asserted that the ICE deployment was “producing positive outcomes.”
Karoline Leavitt commented, “Wait times have improved since ICE arrived, and they are doing everything in their power to help their fellow federal service members.”
However, mid-week typically sees the lowest volume of air travel, and Leavitt appeared to admit that further improvements were necessary.
She stated, “We have seen wait times decrease – not as much as we’d like.”
ICE agents were deployed to airports on Monday during peak travel periods. Agency data shows approximately 2.6 million people passed through TSA on Monday, compared to 2.2 million on Tuesday, and wait times at major travel hubs began to climb again by Thursday morning.
With lawmakers scheduled to begin a two-week recess on Friday, no significant breakthrough has been made in Congress regarding a funding agreement for DHS, which includes the TSA. A renewed effort for a resolution is underway as airport officials issue warnings about severe consequences if the crisis persists.
Without a funding solution, overloaded airports face a busy weekend with ongoing spring break travel, operating with only a fraction of their usual security screening capacity. TSA employees have been resigning or calling out in large numbers after enduring six weeks without pay.
TSA figures released Thursday indicated that over 3,120 TSA officers were absent from work on Wednesday. The callout rate, at 11.14%, is just below Sunday’s record of 11.76%. Additionally, nearly 500 TSA officers have resigned since the shutdown began, according to DHS.
To mitigate traveler dissatisfaction, airports have reallocated staff from other departments, advised passengers to arrive hours earlier than usual, and enlisted external security personnel.
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where wait times once again soared to four hours early Thursday, has experienced some of the most significant impacts, alongside key travel hubs in New York and Atlanta.
Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System, issued a recorded statement Wednesday, expressing concern that “conditions will only deteriorate at airports across the US until Congress resolves this shutdown.”
As of Thursday, TSA has dispatched 32 officers from its National Deployment Office to George Bush Intercontinental, the airport announced in an X post.
Although passenger numbers in Houston slightly decreased on Wednesday, the city’s airports are anticipated to handle a substantial volume of travelers on Thursday and Friday. This is partly due to the conclusion of an energy conference and the city hosting three NCAA men’s basketball tournament games, as stated by the city’s airport system on its website.
On Thursday, Jennifer Clark found herself in a lengthy security queue at George Bush Intercontinental, eager to catch her son’s inaugural flight as a United Airlines flight attendant.
She and her family had traveled to Houston for her son’s United flight attendant training graduation, but Clark was apprehensive about making it to the flight on time to board with him.
Clark mentioned she would be “a little heartbroken” if she missed the flight, but she successfully cleared security in time to board.
CNN’s Leigh Waldman reported from New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Thursday morning that the wait time in one general security line approached two hours. Video footage revealed the line snaking back and forth, filling the entire hall, while the TSA PreCheck line took just over 40 minutes to process.
According to CNN employee Jonathan Hawkins, who was traveling through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the PreCheck line on Thursday morning extended out the door. To manage the large number of passengers, the line wove through baggage claim and around the terminal.
Hawkins noted, “The general atmosphere is quite good-natured. People seem to have arrived expecting a long wait.”
It took Hawkins approximately an hour to reach the typical start of the TSA PreCheck line and an additional 45 minutes to clear security.
A CNN team observed three ICE agents checking IDs at security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson, facilitating passenger movement through the main checkpoints. Private security personnel were also assisting with the bins.
In this particular line, travelers’ first interaction with TSA staff occurs at the metal detector, as TSA agents continue to oversee the X-ray machines.
On Thursday just before noon, when a man experienced a medical emergency near a Delta counter at Hartsfield-Jackson, ICE agents provided assistance until Atlanta Police and Atlanta Fire and Rescue arrived to take over.
Furthermore, DHS reported that an ICE officer saved a 1-year-old child’s life at John F. Kennedy International Airport when the child was unable to breathe for nearly two minutes.
The agency’s news release stated that the child’s father was holding the unresponsive child in his arms while in a TSA PreCheck line.
Officials recounted that the agent, upon hearing screams from the father and other passengers, “sprinted to the scene” and performed the Heimlich maneuver. The child resumed breathing after a few seconds, was reevaluated, and deemed healthy enough to fly.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin remarked in the news release, “Had our agent not been present and acted, this situation would have ended tragically.”
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer successfully intervenes to save a 1-year-old child experiencing a choking emergency in a TSA security line at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
This week’s midpoint, typically the calmest period for air travel, offered some relief, with security wait times returning to normal at several airports by Wednesday, albeit with a few exceptions.
George Bush Intercontinental in Houston reported a two-hour wait on Wednesday afternoon, a decrease from over four hours earlier in the week. Due to staff shortages, the airport can only operate approximately half of its 37 TSA checkpoints, Szczesniak noted.
He explained, “So that’s 100% spring break loads going through the airport being processed through less than 50% of our TSA lanes. That is not sustainable.”
DHS reported that nearly 40% of the Houston airport’s TSA officers were absent from work on Tuesday. The airport has redeployed employees from unrelated departments to help manage crowds.
Szczesniak stated, “We’ve reassigned hundreds of employees from across our organization, from finance to IT to maintenance and more, to help manage lines and assist travelers.”
To alleviate extended waits, several airports have urged flyers to arrive considerably earlier than the standard recommended times.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the region’s major airports, has deployed civilian security and police officers to airports in New York and New Jersey. However, these additional personnel are primarily assisting with crowd control and are not authorized to operate security screening checkpoints.
On Thursday morning, security lines were extensive at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, as reported by the airport in an X post.
Officials advised spring breakers to anticipate lengthy queues throughout the weekend, recommending travelers arrive at the airport three hours in advance.
The advisory noted, “Checkpoint wait times are typically at their longest in the morning, with varying durations throughout the day.”
While travelers face inconveniences from delays, the lives of many unpaid TSA workers have been drastically disrupted, with reports of empty refrigerators, eviction notices, and overdrawn bank accounts.
During a House Oversight hearing on Wednesday, TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill testified, “Officers are reportedly sleeping in their cars at airports to save gas money, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second and third jobs to make ends meet, all while expected to perform at the highest level when in uniform to protect the traveling public.”
Tatiana Finlay, a TSA union member, confided to CNN, “At this point, it has come to the point of, like, having to skip meals because I have to make sure that my kids are fed.”
Many TSA employees live on a tight budget, earning an average of $35,000 annually, according to the American Federation of Government Employees union. If a funding solution isn’t found by Friday, workers will miss another full paycheck.
Beyond those who have resigned or called out, some TSA workers who wish to report for duty are encountering difficulties in commuting.
Szczesniak of the Houston Airport System recounted, “Just yesterday, I watched an officer receive a gas card from one of our partners. They had tears in their eyes knowing that they could fill up their tank to get home and come back to work to help keep these lines moving.”
Airport officials are also providing meals to TSA workers and collaborating with the Houston Food Bank and other non-profit organizations, he added on Wednesday.
CNN senior editor Joe Sutton, who was traveling from Hartsfield-Jackson on Thursday morning, noted that the crowds and the partial shutdown were noticeably affecting TSA workers.
Sutton observed, “You could see they are tired and just look a bit defeated. But trying to keep some energy.”
TSA union workers have consistently stated that the support from ICE agents, who are receiving their paychecks, is far from an adequate solution. Finlay deemed it “unacceptable.”
Everett Kelly, the national president of the AFGE, metaphorically described the situation, saying, “That’s like giving a person dying of pneumonia a teaspoon of cough syrup. It doesn’t address the problem and it’s not gonna work.”
This report has been updated to include additional details.