Ice brokers look on as vacationers stand in lengthy strains at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Worldwide Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Megan Varner | Getty Pictures
NEW YORK — Andrew Leonard confirmed up at John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport at 4:45 a.m. on Monday for his 7 a.m. flight to Seattle. Almost two hours later, he made it by means of safety and to his gate simply in time for boarding.
“I fly out of this terminal on a regular basis and that is insane,” mentioned Leonard, a 34-year-old performing arts instructor in New York who was en path to Seattle forward of a household trip to Hawaii.
He’s certainly one of tens of hundreds of vacationers across the U.S. who’re going through extra-long safety wait occasions at main airport hubs reminiscent of Atlanta, New York and Houston as a result of elevated absences of Transportation Safety Administration officers. TSA staff are going through a second missed full paycheck this week as a partial authorities shutdown continues.
The Trump administration on Monday deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement brokers to a number of U.S. airports.
White Home border czar Tom Homan mentioned Sunday mentioned the administration would ship ICE brokers to airports on Monday to assist ease safety strains amid the Division of Homeland Safety shutdown.
DHS blamed Democrats for the shutdown and journey issues in an emailed assertion to CNBC.
A Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) agent appears to be like on passengers queue to undergo safety at New York’s LaGuardia airport on March 22, 2026.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Pictures
“This pointless, reckless shutdown of our homeland safety workforce has brought on greater than 400 TSA officers to give up and hundreds to name out from work as a result of they don’t seem to be capable of afford fuel, childcare, meals, or hire,” the division mentioned.
DHS and TSA did not instantly reply to a request for touch upon what number of ICE brokers can be deployed, the place and what their duties can be.
Homan informed CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the ICE brokers can be “serving to TSA transfer these strains alongside,” together with by guarding exit doorways to alleviate TSA brokers so they may display vacationers. “We’re merely there to assist TSA do their jobs in areas that do not want their specialised experience.”
TSA’s greater than 50,000 officers have been working with out their common paychecks for the reason that partial authorities shutdown started in mid-February. The shutdown comes as Democrats in Congress demand adjustments to how federal immigration enforcement operates in alternate for releasing DHS funding after two U.S. residents had been shot and killed by officers in Minneapolis.
A whole bunch of TSA officers have give up for the reason that shutdown began, based on their union, the American Federation of Authorities Staff.
The safety line at John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport on Monday, March 23, 2026.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Members of the journey business, together with airline executives, have blasted lawmakers for failing to pay important authorities staff throughout repeated shutdowns which have snarled journey.
In early 2019 and in late 2025, two federal authorities shutdowns ended shortly after journey disruptions escalated following higher-than-typical absences of air visitors controllers. Their pay is not affected by this deadlock.
New York’s LaGuardia Airport was closed on Monday morning following a collision of an Air Canada regional jet and an emergency car on Sunday night time. Some passengers informed CNBC that they had switched to fly out of Kennedy due to the disruptions.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a brief floor cease at Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport in New Jersey on Monday morning after air visitors controllers evacuated the tower due to a burning odor coming from an elevator, including to journey chaos round New York Metropolis.
— CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed to this text.
