A partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has disrupted airports nationwide after Congress failed to extend funding for the agency. About 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers have been working without pay since mid-February, and DHS says nearly 500 have resigned during the lapse. Long security lines at major airports, intensified by a spring-break travel surge about 5% higher than last year, have prompted warnings that some smaller airports could be closed if staffing shortages continue.
President Donald Trump announced he would issue an order to “immediately pay” TSA officers to address the situation, posting on Truth Social that the move was intended to stop what he called chaos at the airports. The White House has also discussed tapping emergency funds to pay TSA staff without new congressional approval.
To help manage operations, the administration deployed several hundred Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports. ICE personnel remain on the payroll because last year’s tax-cut and spending legislation provided additional DHS funding, including roughly $75 billion designated for ICE operations. However, ICE agents are not trained to perform TSA screening. They have been used for ID checks with TSA equipment, guarding entrances and exits, assisting with logistics and managing crowds.
The funding gap stems from a temporary financing arrangement reached last fall that restored most federal funding but left DHS on short-term authority; that temporary financing has since expired. Lawmakers remain at an impasse. Democrats insist that any full funding for DHS include reforms and guardrails for immigration enforcement amid public concern over raids and incidents involving federal agents. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly said reforms have been a priority. Republicans counter that withholding funds would harm security; their proposal would fund most of DHS but exclude ICE enforcement and removal operations and add measures such as body-camera requirements for immigration officers. That Republican plan does not include several Democratic requests, like clearer visible identification for agents or bans on raids near schools, churches and other sensitive sites.
Meanwhile, ICE and other DHS law-enforcement components continue to operate because of the separate funds provided last year, allowing immigration enforcement to proceed even as TSA faces unpaid personnel and staffing challenges that are affecting travelers nationwide.