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TSA Warns U.S. Airports May Close Amid 40-Day DHS Funding Standoff

TSA Warns U.S. Airports May Close Amid 40-Day DHS Funding Standoff
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The nation’s top transportation security official warned that some U.S. airports may soon be forced to shut down security checkpoints as the Homeland Security funding standoff entered its 40th day, leaving roughly 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers working without pay and pushing wait times to record highs at major hubs theguardian +1. Absenteeism among screeners has climbed into double digits nationwide and up to 40% at some large airports, with passengers in some cities reporting lines lasting as long as 4.5 hours theguardian +1.

Congressional negotiators in the Senate scrambled Thursday to salvage a deal that would reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security, including TSA, while carving out Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s enforcement operations — the central fault line in the budget fight between Democrats and Republicans afro. But with no agreement yet and spring travel ramping up, transportation officials and airline executives warned of deepening disruption and growing security risks.

How a Political Standoff Pushed TSA to the Breaking Point

Funding for DHS lapsed in mid‑February after Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would have extended money for the department without adding new restrictions on immigration agents, prompting a partial shutdown that has now stretched beyond five weeks afro +1. While some DHS components continued operating under separate appropriations, TSA’s roughly 50,000 front‑line officers have remained on the job without pay, missing at least one full paycheck and facing mounting financial strain theguardian.

TSA told lawmakers this week that 460 officers have quit since the dispute began, on top of more than 1,100 who walked away during a previous shutdown in 2025, eroding a workforce that takes months to recruit and train theguardian. National TSA no‑show rates have hovered around 10–12% on the worst days — more than 3,000 daily absences — with some airports reporting 25–40% of screeners off the job theguardian +1. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that if the situation persisted, “small airports…could soon shut” entirely for lack of security staff pbs.

ICE at the Checkpoints and the Fight Over Immigration Enforcement

Seeking to blunt the impact, the administration this week began deploying hundreds of ICE and Homeland Security Investigations officers to about a dozen large airports to help manage crowds and staff non‑screening posts mprnews. President Donald Trump praised the move as “very fertile territory” for law enforcement and suggested he could also send National Guard units for “more help” if needed mprnews +1. But ICE personnel, rushed through two days of training, lack the clearances and specialized instruction to operate X‑ray machines or conduct full security checks, limiting them largely to exit lanes and line management mprnews.

Democrats and civil liberties groups have condemned the deployment, arguing it chills immigrant and mixed‑status families from traveling and underscores why they are insisting on reforms to ICE operations as a condition of restoring full DHS funding mprnews +1. Senate Democrats have pushed for requirements including body‑worn cameras, visible identification, limits on arrests at “sensitive locations” such as schools and hospitals, and greater use of judicial warrants for home raids afro +1. Republicans, backed by the White House, have resisted tying those changes to the budget, insisting on a clean bill that funds ICE enforcement along with TSA and other DHS functions afro.

The Bigger Picture

With airlines forecasting 171 million passengers over a two‑month spring travel period — a 4% increase from last year — the shutdown has collided with peak demand at precisely the moment TSA’s experienced workforce is fraying pbs. Travel industry groups and airline CEOs have urged Congress to act “immediately” to restore pay and stabilize staffing, warning that every extra day of political brinkmanship deepens both operational chaos and long‑term damage to aviation security theguardian +1. Whether lawmakers can separate the fight over immigration enforcement from the urgent need to keep airport checkpoints open will determine not only how quickly lines shrink, but how resilient the system is when the next crisis hits.

theguardian Reuters, March 24, 2026.
mprnews Reuters, March 23, 2026.
pbs Reuters, March 19–20, 2026.
afro PBS NewsHour / NBC News, March 24, 2026.
mynorthwest BBC / Politico, February 2026.
reuters CNBC, March 25, 2026.