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By Adeola Adeosun
Weekend Night Editor
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Long lines stretching into parking garages and baggage claim areas are greeting travelers at major U.S. airports, as a budget impasse leaves Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers without pay.
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be deployed to airports beginning Monday to help ease congestion.
Lines Stretch Across Multiple Major Airports
Videos circulating on social media show lengthy queues at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport, with travelers reporting a 153-minute wait time in Atlanta as early as 6 a.m.
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Hundreds of thousands of Homeland Security workers — including TSA screeners, U.S. Secret Service personnel and Coast Guard members — have been working without pay since Congress failed to renew Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding last month.
The standoff has created a cascading problem for air travelers, who face unpredictable and hours-long security waits with little advance notice of what to expect at their airport on any given day.
Trump Orders ICE Deployment Starting Monday
Trump said in a Truth Social post that ICE agents would deploy to airports Monday "to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job" despite the partial government shutdown.
White House border czar Tom Homan, tapped by Trump to lead the effort, said Sunday that specific duties and numbers of ICE agents were still being worked out with TSA and ICE leadership. He said the plan would prioritize large airports with wait times of around three hours or more. Possible roles for ICE agents include monitoring exit lanes — freeing TSA officers to work screening lines — and checking identification before passengers enter screening areas.
"ICE agents are assigned at many airports across the country already," Homan said. "Certainly, a highly trained ICE law enforcement officer can cover an exit and make sure people don't go through those exits." He acknowledged limits to the deployment, adding: "I don't see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine, because we're not trained in that."
Senate Advances New DHS Secretary Nomination
Separately, the Senate advanced the nomination of Senator Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, to be Trump's next DHS secretary in a 54-37 vote, with a confirmation vote possible as early as Monday.
Democrats have so far shown no sign of backing down in the funding standoff, demanding major changes to federal immigration enforcement conduct. Homan said bipartisan talks with senators were ongoing but that the two sides had not yet reached full agreement.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, via Truth Social: The Radical Left Democrats have hurt so many people with their vicious and uncaring ways. What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace. If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before! The Fascist Democrats will never protect America, but the Republicans will. Just like the Radical Left allowed millions of Criminals to pour into our Country through their ridiculous and dangerous Open Border Policy, the Republicans closed it all down, and we now have the Strongest Border in American History. Likewise, I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, “GET READY.” NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!"
Tom Homan, White House Border Czar, told CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday: "We're going to be a force multiplier. I don't see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine, because we're not trained in that — but wherever we can provide extra security, we will."
Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, told reporters: "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. The president wants to take away that leverage point for Democrats and make travel easier for the American people."
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic Leader: "The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country."
Lauren Bis, DHS spokesperson, said in a statement earlier this week: “The Democrats' reckless DHS shutdown is causing TSA officers to go without pay for the third time in nearly six months...Now, 366 TSA officers have left the force.”
Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, wrote on X earlier this month: “All Democrats are asking is for ICE and CBP to play by the same rules that your local police officer does. Senate Republicans would rather keep DHS shutdown.”
Airline CEOs wrote in a letter to Congress this week: "Once again, air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown... First, leaders should immediately come together to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Then they need to act so this problem never happens again."
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What Happens Next
Homan said he planned to have a deployment plan — including which airports ICE agents would be sent to first — finalized by the end of Sunday. Meanwhile, the confirmation vote for Mullin as DHS secretary could come as early as Monday.
Bipartisan Senate talks over a path to restore DHS funding are ongoing, though no agreement appeared imminent as of Sunday.
Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
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