Congestion is rising at major U.S. airports due to spring break travel demand and staffing shortages from the government shutdown. In response, the Trump administration even deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, but critics say the measure has had little effect.
According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 24th, confusion is mounting at airports across the United States, with security lines stretching outside buildings and wait times reaching hours. Some passengers, worried they would not make it through the checkpoints, are giving up or rebooking flights, and reports are increasing of travelers spending the night at airports.
This stems from the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which has led Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees working without pay to leave their posts. According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than about 3,450 employees, or 11.8% of TSA staff nationwide, have decided to resign or take leave and left their duty stations, and absentee rates at some airports such as Atlanta and New Orleans are said to exceed 40%. With the security screening workforce gap becoming a reality, observers say overall airport operations have effectively hit a bottleneck.
U.S. President Donald Trump deployed ICE agents to airports starting on the 23rd to stabilize the situation, but there has been little effect. Agents were assigned to 14 airports, including ▲Chicago O'Hare ▲New York JFK ▲Atlanta, and are said to be taking on non-specialized support roles such as exit control, queue management, and guiding passenger flows, rather than conducting security screening directly.
TSA employees are venting frustration. A civil servants' union said the ICE agents' duties are "work that even volunteers could do," while Johnny Jones, Secretary-General of TSA Local 100 at the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said, "Deploying ICE agents is an insult to TSA employees."
Experts worry about potential security gaps. TSA agents are specialized personnel who undergo an average of more than eight months of training and carry out advanced security tasks such as explosives detection. In contrast, the support staff currently deployed have not received relevant training, so screening accuracy and response capability are bound to suffer, ultimately emboldening terrorist groups and other dangerous organizations, critics say.
Former TSA Director General John Pistole warned, "Security screening accounts for about 80% of TSA's work," adding, "Personnel who have not learned the details—such as detecting trace explosives on hands or resolving detector alarms—cannot fill the gap."
As the possibility rises that ICE agents could conduct immigration enforcement, concerns about human rights violations are also growing. By law, they have the same enforcement authority at airports as in other public places and can request identification or order short-term detentions when necessary. However, they are said to be unable to search personal belongings or electronic devices without a warrant.
Earlier, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement that "the deployment of ICE agents at airports is not for immigrant enforcement." However, immediately afterward, President Trump abruptly said ICE agents would "take security measures at an unprecedented level," adding that "immediately arresting undocumented immigrants is included," which appears to have amplified public anxiety.
In fact, on the 23rd, the previous day, controversy flared after ICE agents were seen arresting two undocumented immigrants from Guatemala at San Francisco International Airport. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie explained, "There is no basis for saying immigration enforcement is taking place at the airport, and this incident is an isolated case," but doubts persist.
Meanwhile, authorities and the aviation industry advised passengers to arrive at the airport with at least a four-hour buffer. Some airlines, including Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, have responded by allowing flight changes without fees.