US: Trump orders payment to TSA agents after hundreds quit
dw.com • • nation
Key Points:
- A partial government shutdown has led to nearly 500 TSA officers quitting and around 50,000 TSA agents working without pay since mid-February, causing severe disruptions and long lines at major US airports amid a spring break travel surge.
- President Trump announced he will issue an order to immediately pay TSA agents to address the crisis, aiming to end what he called "Democrat Chaos at the Airports."
- ICE agents have been deployed to airports to assist with non-security duties like ID checks and crowd control, but they lack TSA training and cannot perform full security functions.
- Funding negotiations remain stalled, with Democrats demanding ICE reforms and Republicans proposing partial DHS funding excluding ICE enforcement, while the White House considers emergency funding to pay TSA agents without Congressional approval.
- Despite the DHS shutdown, ICE and other law enforcement personnel continue to be paid due to prior budget allocations, allowing immigration and deportation operations to proceed amid ongoing political disputes.
