TSA delays risk grows
U.S. airport security faces the prospect of longer waits as a DHS funding standoff continues and the White House has floated using ICE agents to backfill unpaid TSA staff, a move federal unions call unsafe (businessinsider.com). Travelers are being warned to expect extended checkpoint times and to allow extra time for domestic and international connections (businessinsider.com).
Roughly 50,000 TSA officers have been working without regular pay since the Department of Homeland Security funding lapse that began Feb. 14, per agency reporting and national coverage. (cnbc.com) DHS said unscheduled absences hit about 11.76% on a recent Sunday, while individual airports have seen far higher spikes — New Orleans 42.3%, Atlanta 41.5% and JFK 37.4% — and Houston reported a single-day absence as high as 55%. (nbcnews.com) Federal officials began deploying hundreds of ICE officers to some airports this week, with multiple outlets reporting agents at 13–14 major hubs including Atlanta, JFK and Chicago O’Hare and at least ~50 ICE personnel per shift in some locations. (aljazeera.com) ICE and DHS officials say the immigration officers are being used for crowd control, queue management and site security at entrances and exits, and will not operate X‑ray machines or perform passenger screening. (nbcnews.com) The American Federation of Government Employees’ national president Everett Kelley said TSA members “deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents,” and flight‑attendant and other labor groups called the deployment a distraction from restoring pay to screeners. (afge.org) Official counts of resignations vary: DHS has reported 366 TSA officers quit since the funding lapse began, while other national outlets have cited figures of “over 300” and “more than 400,” and unions warn that a potential missed paycheck on March 27 would likely drive further absences. (time.com)
