- ICE agents called in to aid TSA amid airport delays.
- Shutdown crossed its thirty-fifth day on Sunday.
- Transportation Secretary warns disruptions could worsen if shutdown continues.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP called in Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to assist Transportation Security Administration officers at airports starting Monday. The U.S. government shutdown crossed its thirty-fifth day on Sunday.
DHS funding lapsed on Feb.13 after Congress failed to agree on immigration enforcement reforms. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that airport disruptions could worsen if the shutdown continues, according to Reuters.
“ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The shutdown, caused by a congressional stalemate over DHS funding and immigration enforcement, left more than fifty thousand TSA officers unpaid, with many calling out or leaving the agency, straining airport security nationwide.
On Saturday, more than three thousand two hundred fifty employees called out, while DHS reported that over four hundred officers had left the agency since the shutdown began.
Trump criticized Democrats for blocking DHS funding, saying their inaction endangered national safety, CBS News reported.
He said that border czar Tom Homan would oversee the operation.
Homan confirmed that ICE agents would handle basic security duties, such as monitoring airport entrances and exits, allowing TSA staff to focus on screenings.
“We’re going to do what we can to help TSA move those people through the line,” Homan said, adding that priority would be given to airports with the longest wait times.
Trump and DHS officials framed the move as necessary, but the union representing TSA officers pushed back.
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said ICE agents are not trained in aviation security and placing them at checkpoints could create gaps.
He called the move a substitute for paying and supporting TSA staff who have been unpaid for more than five weeks, CBS News reported.
TSA absenteeism is high, with nationwide absences around ten percent and some major airports exceeding 30 percent, including Atlanta, Houston, New York JFK and New Orleans.
Small airports could close temporarily if staffing shortages worsen.
Airlines and travel groups said the situation strains workers responsible for screening millions of travelers, according to media reports.
The shutdown coincides with spring break, with airlines expecting one hundred seventy-one million passengers over two months, up four percent from last year. Long lines have been reported at major airports, including Atlanta, Houston and New York, and experts warn delays could worsen without a congressional deal, Reuters reported.
Senate Republicans and Democrats are reportedly in talks to fund the TSA and prevent disruptions, CBS News reported.
As negotiations continue, travelers may face long waits at airports nationwide. Deploying ICE agents is a temporary measure that does not address unpaid TSA officers or staffing shortages, according to CBS News.
During a previous shutdown last fall, flight disruptions forced the FAA to cut flights at major airports by 10 percent.
Daily losses from the longest U.S. shutdown, which lasted 43 days, averaged $61.5 million in direct travel spending and $136.8 million including indirect effects, Joshua Friedlander, USTA vice president of research, wrote in a blog post.
