A partial government shutdown has caused widespread disruption across airports in the United States, with nearly 500 airport security officers quitting their jobs, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Thursday.
It all comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has not reached a deal with the US Congress to fund the department.
As a result, some 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have been forced to work without pay since mid-February.
As the crisis deepened, Trump on Thursday announced he will issue an order to “immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said his order for Homeland Security to make the payment aimed to “quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports.”
“It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it!” he wrote.
What is the current situation at US airports?
Security checkpoints at major US airports have seen hourslong lines, with airline passengers bearing the brunt of the crisis.
TSA is particularly strained due to a travel surge associated with school spring break, while experiencing about 5% higher travel volume than last year. The agency has warned it may be forced to close small airports if the situation continues.
Trump deployed hundreds of Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents to several airports in response to the situation.
Although these agents are unable to carry out TSA’s workload, as they lack the training, some ICE agents are reportedly performing duties like checking IDs using TSA equipment, guarding entrances and exits, assisting with logistics and doing crowd control.
Unlike TSA agents, ICE officers are still getting paid — both agencies are part of the same Department of Homeland SecurityImage: Neil Constantine/NurPhoto/picture alliance
No progress on negotiations
The DHS partial shutdown came about after Trump cut a deal last fall with Democrats to end a federal shutdown.
Lawmakers agreed to fund the federal government, except for DHS. The department was put on temporary funding, but that has since expired.
The Washington Post newspaper, however, reported on Thursday that the White House was considering whether it could sidestep Congress and pay TSA agents. The White House later confirmed discussions to use emergency funding to pay TSA agents.
To return full funding for DHS, Democrats are demanding guardrails and changes to ICE.
The agency has come under heavy criticism in the wake of nationwide outrage over immigration raids and the deaths of two US citizens in Minnesota at the hands of federal agents.
“We’ve been talking about ICE reforms from day one,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Republicans, meanwhile, say Democrats are putting the country at risk. Their latest bill proposes to fund most of DHS except for the enforcement and removal operations of ICE and added some new restraints on immigration officers, including the use of body cameras.
But the proposal excludes other policies that Democrats have demanded, such as requirements that federal agents wear identification and refrain from conducting raids around schools, churches or other sensitive places.
Why are ICE agents paid when TSA has no money for airport security?
Although DHS has not been funded, ICE and other law enforcement personnel within DHS are still getting paid.
A tax cut and spending bill pushed by Trump last year funneled billions of additional dollars to DHS, including $75 billion for ICE operations.
The scheme ensures that Trump’s immigration and deportation agenda can continue to operate even with the funding shutdown.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
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