Airports across the United States are warning travelers to remain braced for long waits at security – even after the Trump administration sent in federal immigration agents to help.
On Tuesday, multiple airports — including major hubs in Georgia and Texas — announced that it could take four hours or longer to be screened by Transportation Security Administration officers amid the spring break travel surge.
The Department of Homeland Security has operated without regular appropriations for nearly 40 days, leaving roughly 50,000 TSA officers without pay. More than 400 have already quit, and over 3,000 have called out of work nationwide, leading to major delays.
As a result, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been deployed to at least 14 airports to assist, including Newark, Atlanta, Chicago and Houston.
Lawmakers from both parties are locked in negotiations to end the DHS shutdown, with recent reports suggesting a breakthrough may be close. Democrats want reforms to federal immigration enforcement, while Trump complicated matters Monday by demanding that the bill be tied to a GOP‑backed voting measure.
Wait times at major airports
Over the past 24 hours, wait times have varied significantly at airports.
On Tuesday, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia — the busiest airport in the U.S. — urged passengers to allow at least four hours for both international and domestic screenings. The George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, also warned of four hour wait times.
Meanwhile, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey have temporarily suspended wait time estimates, leaving passengers with no clear timeline.
“Wait times are subject to rapid change based on passenger volumes and TSA staffing,” JFK said Monday. “Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight.”
Some major hubs report significantly shorter wait times, with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, Florida’s Miami International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington state estimating TSA screening times of 20 minutes or less.
“As of 9 a.m. on Monday, operations and TSA security wait times at SEA remain normal, averaging 10-15 min,” the Seattle airport said in a statement. “Thank you to our partners at TSA for their ongoing dedication to travelers.”
‘FIVE F****** HOURS’: What travelers are saying
In recent days, travelers have voiced intense frustration over security wait times, with many saying they had missed flights. A growing number of people are calling on the federal government to get their act together.
“I waited in the security line at ATL for four hours yesterday afternoon and missed my flight,” one X user wrote Monday. “Have to go back today.” Another user griped that they lingered in security lines in Atlanta for “FIVE F****** HOURS.”
Photos taken inside the Georgia airport show throngs of passengers crowded together with their luggage, idly staring at their phones while waiting to be screened.
“My parents got to the airport at 3AM in Houston and still missed their flight at 7AM after standing in line for 4 hours,” one user wrote on X Tuesday morning. “They now have to drive 15 hours back home this morning, and shouldn’t be driving that long. F*** politics, just pay the f******* people.”
Others questioned why ICE agents have been dispatched to airports.
“I don’t feel they have a place here, and I’m very curious as to why they’re showing their face here in the airport and yet on the street they’re covering their face,” Erika Lawson, a passenger at the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, told the Houston Chronicle.
Lengthy stints in TSA lines were not a universal experience though.
“I went while [LaGuardia] was still ‘closed’ and the TSA line was open,” Ben Montiel, a New York City resident, told The Independent. “I waited about 15 minutes but it filled up behind me really quickly. ICE was there. One group of four, just standing there at the entry. There were no agents near the actual TSA entry.”
What officials are saying
Both Republicans and Democrats have traded blame for the airport travel chaos stemming from the ongoing DHS shutdown.
“The result of the Democrat shutdown is being felt here in New Orleans, with massive lines, over three hours long at the airport,” GOP House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Monday.
“The Democrats’ reckless DHS shutdown is causing TSA officers to go without pay for the third time in nearly six months,” Lauren Bis, the acting assistant DHS secretary said last week. “These political stunts are causing unneeded financial hardship for our TSA officers and their families.
Democrats, for their part, have pointed fingers at Republican counterparts for failing to advance legislation to fund airport employees, arguing that relying on ICE personnel will not fix the situation.
“The basic issue here is that our Republican counterparts failed to negotiate and to agree to measures that have been put forward to pay TSA,” Democratic Rep. Troy Carter said, referencing Democratic bills that sought to fund DHS with the exception of immigration enforcement personnel.
“The last thing that the American people need is for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said over the weekend.
Trump administration officials have said deploying ICE agents to travel hubs would alleviate pressures for passengers.
Border Czar Tom Homan said Sunday that ICE agents would help with airport security — while also enforcing Trump’s immigration agenda. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy claimed that ICE agents have already been trained to perform security-related tasks, such as patting down travelers and using X-ray scanning technology.
