Senators are discussing a proposal to end the Homeland Security budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including Transportation Security Administration airport workers who are going without pay. The deal would exclude U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's removal operations, which have been core to the dispute.
As U.S. airports remain jammed with long lines due to short staffing at TSA, President Donald Trump ordered Immigration and
Customs Enforcement officers to provide airport security, alarming some lawmakers.
DHS is now being overseen by Markwayne Mullin, whose nomination the Senate approved on Monday. Mullin has tried to present himself as a steady hand, saying his goal as secretary would be to get the department off the front page of the news.
Here's the latest:
Federal officers wearing green tactical vests were seen working alongside TSA agents Tuesday behind a security checkpoint at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
The two federal officers stood with TSA agents at an X-ray machine used to scan baggage at one of the airport’s five terminals. One officer’s vest identified him as ICE personnel. The second had a vest patch that read: “federal agent.”
Security lines appeared to be moving normally at O’Hare, with no obvious signs of delays.
An Associated Press photographer at the airport also saw five agents in black vests designating them as Homeland Security officers walking through a different terminal and getting into a vehicle parked outside.
Since the shutdown began Valentine’s Day, at least 458 TSA officers have quit altogether, according to DHS.
Nationwide on Monday, nearly 11% of TSA workers — more than 3,200 — missed work.
DHS figures show the callout rate at some major airports was three or nearly four times higher:
— William P. Hobby International Airport in Houston: 40%
— Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport: 37%
— George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston: 36%
— John F. Kennedy International Airport: 34%
— Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans: 35%
— Baltimore-Washington International Airport: 30%
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport confirmed that CLEAR and TSA PreCheck were not available at its checkpoints on Tuesday. George Bush Intercontinental saw some of the most significant disruptions, with wait times for general screenings averaging about four hours as of midday.
Other airports have narrowed the availability of priority screenings.
Miami International Airport, for example, noted on its website that several of its priority and PreCheck lanes were also closed at certain checkpoints on Tuesday — but those options were still available at other entries.
Airport conditions have become increasingly unpredictable as the shutdown drags on, with staffing shortages driving uncertain wait times.
Complicating matters, the airport wait times listed in the MyTSA mobile app and third-party trackers may be outdated right now because TSA isn’t actively updating its websites during the shutdown.
So what can travelers do in the meantime?
Travel industry analysts recommend checking an airport’s website and social media feeds. Many airports have been posting timely updates and guidance on the social platform X, often including terminal-specific information.
Even so, conditions can change quickly. Travelers should check early and often, not just before leaving for the airport. Build extra buffer time into travel plans and have backup options in place, such as renting a car or flying out of nearby airports.
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport suggested travelers should find a bathroom before getting into security lines, where the wait could last as long as four hours Tuesday.
The airport said lines could stretch down to the subway tunnel, which was “not designed for queuing and does not have restrooms or food options.”
Faster security options, known as CLEAR and TSA PreCheck, were not available for travelers at terminals A and E. People were moving slowly in at least eight lines at times.
Travelers headed to LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports in New York — as well as Newark Liberty International in neighboring New Jersey — still couldn’t check online TSA wait times Tuesday morning.
All three airports said this week that they had temporarily suspended the live security wait times they typically provide on their websites, due to “rapid” changes in passenger volumes and TSA staffing.
Beyond TSA waits, LaGuardia saw additional delays and cancellations after it temporarily shut down following Sunday night’s fatal collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck on the airport’s runway.
“Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight,” the airport wrote on social media Monday.
Nationwide on Sunday, 11.8% of TSA agents missed work — the highest rate of the shutdown so far — with over 3,450 officers calling out, according to DHS. More than 400 officers have quit during the shutdown, the department said.
Some have accused the government of using TSA workers as pawns in the ongoing budget fight. And aviation unions have raised additional safety concerns in light of the Trump administration’s deployment of ICE officers.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations would be funded, as well as Customs and Border Protection — but with new guardrails to position officers from those divisions in their traditional roles, rather than as they have been used more recently in immigration roundups.
It would also include immigration operations changes that Democrats have demanded, including mandating officers to wear body cameras and identification.
Since so much of ICE is already funded through Trump’s big tax breaks bill, and immigration officers are still receiving paychecks during the partial government shutdown, senators said the new restraints also would be imposed on operations that rely on that funding source.
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A National Transportation Safety Board specialist who was trying to get to New York’s LaGuardia Airport to help investigate a deadly collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck ran into wider airport delays on Monday.
The air-traffic control specialist, who was flying from Houston, “was in line with TSA for three hours,” NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said during a news conference Monday evening. The NTSB called officials there to “beg” to get her through, Homendy said.
Routine funding for the department has lapsed since Feb. 14, leading to long waits at U.S. airports as Transportation Security Administration agents call out rather than work without pay.
Democrats are demanding that the Trump administration make changes in immigration enforcement operations following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during protests this year in Minneapolis. Trump has refused the latest proposal, and talks have stalled.
A day after the Trump administration began deploying federal immigration officers at some airports’ security checkpoints, long lines and hourslong waits persisted.
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport said wait times at standard security checkpoints ranged from three and a half to four hours Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International urged travelers to allow at least four hours for both domestic and international screenings.
Baltimore-Washington International advised passengers to arrive three hours before their flights, noting that while wait times were “currently minimal,” that could change.
After weeks of missed paychecks, many TSA agents have called in sick or even quit their jobs under the financial strain. That’s forced some airports to close checkpoints at times, with wait times swinging dramatically.
Some airports are reporting shorter wait times — including Los Angeles International and Detroit Metro Airport, whose online trackers showed average waits of just several minutes early Tuesday.
Federal law enforcement officers are a routine presence at international airports. Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving passengers, and Homeland Security Investigations agents conduct criminal inquiries tied to cross-border activity.
But immigration agents are rarely visible at TSA checkpoints, the front line of domestic air travel.
On Monday, Associated Press journalists observed ICE officers and agents patrolling terminals and lingering near long lines of passengers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International, John F. Kennedy International in New York, Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, George Bush Intercontinental in Houston and Louis Armstrong International outside New Orleans.
A handful of other airports — including Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International — also confirmed ICE would be on-site.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said his office was monitoring the deployment of federal officers at O’Hare International.
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“All I can say is that the discussions have been very positive and productive, and hopefully headed in the right direction,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters late in the evening: “Both sides are working in a serious way.”
Senators are discussing a proposal to end the Homeland Security budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including Transportation Security Administration airport workers who are going without pay, but excluding ICE’s enforcement and removal operations, which have been core to the dispute.
The potential breakthrough came after a group of Republican senators headed to the White House late Monday to meet with President Donald Trump. Senators said they expected the negotiators to work through the night, hammering out the details and present written proposals for both parties to discuss Tuesday at their weekly caucus lunches.
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