Live updates: ICE agents deployed to airports as TSA wait times grow
CNN • • nation
Key Points:
- Over 400 TSA agents have quit and thousands more have called out due to financial hardships amid the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown, causing severe airport staffing shortages and long security wait times.
- Call-out rates at major U.S. airports have reached alarming levels, with some exceeding 40%, prompting the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to assist TSA with crowd control and security duties.
- President Trump has linked DHS funding to the controversial "SAVE America Act" and rejected a funding compromise that excluded ICE enforcement, insisting on passing election reform legislation as part of the deal.
- Travelers face extreme delays, such as at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport where wait times could exceed four hours, and passengers are advised to prepare with supplies, especially those traveling with children.
- ICE agents at airports will conduct immigration arrests alongside assisting TSA, with President Trump threatening to deploy the National Guard if staffing and security issues persist.
