Washington, March 23 (IANS) Long security lines and growing passenger frustration hit major US airports as the Trump administration moved to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to help ease pressure on the Transportation Security Administration during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
White House border czar Tom Homan told CNN that ICE agents would begin deploying to airports on Monday and would assist with security at entrances and exits to reduce TSA’s burden as staffing shortages worsened.
A Washington Post report said Homan did not expect the ICE agents to perform specialised screening tasks such as X-ray checks, but said they could help with duties such as guarding exit doors and checking passenger identification before travellers enter screening areas.
The administration and Democrats traded blame as disruptions spread.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X that “Democrats in Congress are intentionally inflicting this pain on American travelers and federal workers by keeping the Department of Homeland Security shut down. It’s awful and indefensible.”
Fox News said airports across the country were seeing long TSA lines and travel disruptions as staffing strains intensified during the shutdown, with some waits stretching for hours.
At Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, one traveller was quoted as saying: “They are sending the line out into the parking garage.”
CBS News reported that some travellers had to wait in line for five hours at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as TSA delays worsened amid what it called a nationwide staffing crisis tied to the shutdown.
An uploaded report from the New York Post said Atlanta airport was “slammed with nearly 3-hour wait” times, with one traveller writing on X: “The line is WRAPPING AROUND BAGGAGE CLAIM!!! THIS IS PURE INSANITY!!!!!!”
The same report said airport officials had seen daily absenteeism among TSA workers climb as high as 40 per cent after agents missed paychecks during the shutdown.
The Washington Post reported that Homan described the ICE deployment as a way to free up TSA officers for more specialised work. “We will be at the airports tomorrow helping TSA move those lines along,” he said. He also said the move “allows the TSA officer to go back to screening and get people through quicker” and that ICE would act as “a force multiplier.”
But critics questioned whether the move would materially reduce delays. The Post cited labour representatives and former officials as saying many airport screening choke points require technical training that ICE agents do not have.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said: “This is really disturbing. ICE agents, who are untrained and have caused problems everywhere they’ve gone, lurking at our airports? That’s asking for trouble.”
According to Newsweek, 20 airports that use private screening contractors rather than TSA staff had largely avoided the long lines seen elsewhere. It said airports in the Screening Partnership Program had continued normal operations because private firms continued to pay employees during the shutdown.
The airport delays come as the shutdown strains one of the most visible parts of the US government for ordinary travellers, especially during a busy spring travel period. Atlanta, one of the world’s busiest air hubs, appeared to become a symbol of the disruption as images of packed checkpoints circulated widely.
–IANS
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