Record numbers of TSA officers called out Saturday as DHS shutdown continues
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) faced its highest call-out rate of officers at airports since the partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown began, with over 3,250 officers calling out on Saturday, March 21. This accounted for 11.51% of the scheduled workforce, causing airport security lines to grow nationwide.
As TSA officers continue to work without receiving pay for over three weeks, President Donald Trump threatened to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to airports unless Democrats agree to a funding package to end the shutdown. Democrats are demanding reforms to ICE and Customs and Border Protection policies before agreeing to fund the DHS.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that ICE agents are trained and can assist with airport security, emphasizing that they could help manage lines. ICE agents are expected to be deployed to 14 airports nationwide, although plans are still being finalized.
Despite the potential deployment of ICE agents, there was a nearly four-hour wait at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Sunday morning. The airports with the highest TSA call-out rates on Saturday included William P. Hobby Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Mayor Andre Dickens of Atlanta announced that federal personnel from HSI and ICE would be deployed to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning, although the deployment is not intended for immigration enforcement.
The president of the union representing TSA workers criticized the Trump administration’s threat to send ICE agents to airports, highlighting that ICE agents are not trained in aviation security like TSA officers are.
Other airports with high call-out rates on Saturday included Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Long Beach Airport, Pittsburgh International Airport, and Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
High wait times were reported at airports such as Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, LaGuardia, and Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The situation remains tense as TSA officers continue to work diligently to ensure the safety of the flying public amidst the ongoing shutdown.
