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What we know so far
ICE agents deployed: President Donald Trump said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will head to US airports Monday, placing border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort. ICE agents are expected to deploy to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday to assist with crowd management and to support Transportation Security Administration operations, according to a Department of Homeland Security official and Atlanta’s mayor.
• Shutdown stalemate: There are few signs lawmakers will reach an agreement to fund DHS, which includes TSA, ahead of a scheduled holiday break. And Trump injected a new demand late Sunday, saying he doesn’t want to make a deal unless Democrats support an elections overhaul bill that already faces stiff odds in the Senate.
• Travel woes: Travelers were warned to expect worsening airport wait times as TSA workers go without pay after funding for DHS lapsed in mid-February. Half the nation’s busiest airports had more than a third of agents call out Saturday. You can track wait times at major airports here and share your travel story with CNN here.
LaGuardia Airport closed after plane collides with fire truck, adding to travel turmoil
An Air Canada passenger plane collided with a firefighting truck at LaGuardia Airport late Sunday, forcing the airport to close for “a thorough investigation” until at least Monday afternoon, officials said.
The Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada took off from Montreal Trudeau International Airport shortly after 10:30 p.m. ET and landed at LaGuardia about one hour later, according to FlightRadar24.
The pilot and copilot were killed and two people in the truck were injured, a law enforcement source told CNN.
Sunday’s incident comes as LaGuardia, like many airports across the country, continues to experience significant delays in wait times as TSA workers go without pay.
Data from FlightAware shows there are more than 200 flight cancellations at LaGuardia as of early Monday.
Read more about the incident here.
Few workers, long lines, missed flights: Catch up on the weekend's travel woes during DHS shutdown
A shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents worked tirelessly Sunday to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid as the partial government shutdown crippling TSA marches into its sixth week.
President Donald Trump said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will head to US airports Monday to assist with crowd management and support TSA operations. But with few signs lawmakers will reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes TSA, ahead of a scheduled holiday break, it’s not clear when relief from travel woes for passengers and agents will come.
Here’s what to know:
• ICE at ATL: ICE agents are expected to deploy to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday to support TSA and manage crowds, according to a DHS official and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. DHS leadership drew up the plans after Trump on Saturday called for agents to deploy to US airports.
• DHS funding talks on “pause”: Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans are “hitting pause” on funding talks while waiting for Democrats to respond to the latest offer. Trump said Sunday he doesn’t want to make a deal on the funding unless Democrats back the “SAVE America Act.”
• Baffling security wait times: Weary travelers at some airports gawked at security checkpoint lines winding through baggage claim. At New York’s LaGuardia Airport, passengers said they waited three hours to get through security, causing some to miss their flights altogether. Not all airports are dealing with long lines, however.
• Rallying support for TSA: Airports and surrounding communities have rallied in recent weeks and days to support TSA staff who have been working without pay by organizing gift card and meal donations.
Trump says no deal on DHS funding unless Democrats back “SAVE America Act”
President Donald Trump said Sunday he doesn’t want to make a deal on Department of Homeland Security funding unless Democrats back the “SAVE America Act.”
“I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,’” Trump posted on Truth Social, echoing a threat he first made in a phone interview with NewsNation earlier Sunday evening.
“It is far more important than anything else we are doing in the Senate, and that includes giving these same terrible people, the Dems (who are to blame for this mess!), a Five Billion Dollar cut in ICE funding, a deal which, even when disguised as something else, is unacceptable to me and the American people,” Trump added in his Truth Social post.
He called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to identify GOP lawmakers who don’t support his push for the election overhaul legislation and said that “they will never be elected again.”
“Put it all together, and also, let Leader Thune clearly identify those few ‘Republicans’ that are Voting against AMERICA. They will never be elected again! In other words, lump everything together as one, and VOTE!!! Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary,” Trump said.
The comments inject a new demand into already fragile negotiations over DHS funding, as lawmakers work to end a partial shutdown that has strained federal operations and contributed to disruptions at US airports.
Mounting TSA lines force travelers to form lines at baggage claim in Atlanta
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, mounting TSA lines forced travelers to queue all the way back to the baggage claim area.
Atlanta and NYC airports stop reporting exact wait times as passenger lines stretch on
As airline passengers face mounting TSA lines across the country, at least four major airports are no longer providing estimated wait times.
“We don’t have exact wait times, at this time,” said a spokesperson for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic.
Instead, the airport advises “passengers to get to the airport three or more hours before their flight and to account for additional time if they are checking luggage.”
All three airports serving New York City also seem to have stopped reporting TSA wait times.
On the website for John F. Kennedy International Airport, a statement says wait time reporting has been temporarily suspended since “wait times are subject to rapid change based on passenger volumes and TSA staffing.”
A statement on Newark Liberty International Airport’s website also noted, “Due to the federal funding lapse, security wait times may be significantly longer than normal.”
At LaGuardia Airport, “Security wait times are currently listed as ‘N/A’ because the technology used to generate those estimates is only reliable when passenger lines remain within designated queue areas,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.
The TSA staff shortage as agents go without pay means passenger lines are extending past those designated queue areas. Some passengers have waited for hours and even had to wait outside the terminal.
“Travelers are encouraged to allow additional time for screening,” reads the Port Authority’s statement.
Not all airports publicly report TSA wait times.
Travelers bypass long security lines in Chicago, San Diego thanks to TSA PreCheck
Sunday travel was chaotic nationwide as airports faced ongoing issues. Travelers endured long security lines at airports in Chicago and San Diego.
Erika Patron and Juan Rodriguez told CNN they both avoided the long TSA lines thanks to TSA PreCheck.
Patron said she took her daughter to San Diego International Airport at 6:45 a.m. and she got through TSA PreCheck in 18 to 20 minutes.
However, as she entered the airport, Patron filmed a video showing the long lines at regular security.
Rodriguez said he arrived at Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 4:30 a.m. and cleared TSA PreCheck in about five to 10 minutes.
“TSA lines were long, and people were talking about 45-minute lines at that time in the morning,” he said.
Rodriguez described the mood at the airport as mixed.
“I think in Chicago people are making the best out of the situation,” he said.
Before donning the unmistakable blue uniform, TSA agents take on extensive hiring and training process
Before buttoning up their iconic, striking blue uniforms decorated with metal badges and American flag patches, federal officers at the Transportation Security Administration undergo an intensive hiring process and trainings.
Recruiting TSA agents, officially called Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), is an eight-step process that takes an average of 90 days to complete, according to the agency. Before they’re eligible for a final job offer, applicants navigate a sequence of testing, medical evaluations, drug screenings and background checks – an exacting standard shaped by the agency’s charge to defend the nation’s airports in the tragic aftermath of September 11.
Those who make it to recruitment head to Glynco, Georgia, for two to three weeks of training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), former TSO Shamara Fielder told CNN. Much of the training there is deliberately ambiguous to not compromise security, she said.
“We learn different screening techniques, and what to look for when it comes to tampering, artful concealment, and identifying explosive devices,” she said. Recruits also learn to operate CT X-ray machines, walk-through metal detectors, and advanced imaging technology – the full-body units where passengers stand on yellow markers, arms raised, for inspection.
But the academy is only the midpoint. Back at their assigned airports, trainees spend two more months working alongside senior officers, translating instruction into practice under watchful supervision. Only after completing this phase, and passing another round of evaluations, are they formally certified as federal officers, Fielder said.
Yet even then, the process doesn’t fully end. Officers who step away from the job for more than 30 days must re-qualify before returning to duty, Fielder said, and as new screening technologies are introduced, additional certifications follow to ensure the training behind security checkpoints evolve alongside the threats it’s designed to stop.
ICE agents expected to deploy to Atlanta airport Monday
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are expected to deploy to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday to assist with crowd management and support TSA operations, according to a Department of Homeland Security official and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
Over the weekend, leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, including at ICE and the Transportation Security Administration, drew up plans after President Donald Trump called for agents to alleviate the strain on TSA. Atlanta is one of the selected airports expected to see a bolstered federal presence.
“We have been informed that federal personnel from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) will be deployed to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport beginning tomorrow morning,” the mayor said in a statement.
“Federal officials have indicated that this deployment is not intended to conduct immigration enforcement activities. All federal personnel will report directly to TSA for the duration of this assignment,” the statement added.
Some ICE agents began to learn about their deployments Sunday afternoon, according to the DHS official. They are expected to wear their marked gear and to help with crowd control. Plans are still in flux, but deployments are expected to start Monday.
“President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted. This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions,” DHS said in a statement.
Their expected roles align with what White House border czar Tom Homan told CNN earlier Sunday.
“We’re simply there to help TSA do their job in areas that don’t need their specialized expertise, such as screening through the X-ray machine,” said Homan, who will oversee the effort.
Trump invokes "SAVE America Act" in DHS funding standoff
President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened not to support any deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security until lawmakers pass the “SAVE America Act,” injecting a new demand into ongoing negotiations over the partial government shutdown as travel disruptions mount across the country.
Asked about some lawmakers wanting to fund the Transportation Security Administration while broader DHS negotiations continue, Trump told NewsNation in a phone interview, “Now that I did this the Democrats want to make a deal. And I don’t think any deal should be made on this until they approve SAVE America.”
He was referring to his announcement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be sent to airports on Monday — which he told NewsNation would remain in place “for as long as it takes.”
The president’s comments come as the Senate remains locked in a marathon debate over the “SAVE America Act,” a federal elections overhaul bill that’s a top priority for Trump but faces near-impossible odds in the chamber.
Supporting local law enforcement could be option for ICE agents at airports, former LAX security director says
Different crowd control and support to local law enforcement could be where ICE plays a role at select airports beginning Monday, according to a former TSA federal security director.
ICE agents could monitor crowds during these hours-long security lines airports are facing, but several tasks TSA partakes in require some training and shadowing, said Keith Jeffries, former TSA federal security director at Los Angeles International Airport and current vice president of K2 Security Screening Group.
He said monitoring exit lanes is one task agents could do or ticket and document checker locations, but both require a small amount of training due to certain procedures and protocols that officers must be aware of.
“As far as x-ray operator, bag checks, pat downs - that’s very extensive training,” he said. “I’m not saying they couldn’t eventually learn that. That’s a lot of classroom training, a lot of on the job training and that’s just not realistic.”
Trump plan to deploy ICE officers into US airports gets mixed reactions from travelers
Passengers at Newark Liberty International Airport had mixed reactions to President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy federal immigration agents to US airports as the partial government shutdown continues.
Laheart Rodney, who was traveling to Atlanta on Sunday, said she worries the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would scare travelers and families with mixed immigration status.
“They’ve been shown to be a little brutal and their training does not seem in line with being an official of any form,” Rodney said. “Absolutely not, I’m saying that as an American.”
Both Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan have said ICE agents will be deployed as early as Monday, but it’s not clear how many will be sent to supplement TSA officers, to which airports or what their duties will entail.
Other passengers CNN spoke to pointed to past actions by ICE agents, specifically the agency’s ramped-up immigration enforcement.
“It’s a little frightening,” said Tali Shalom. “We’ve seen that they kind of operate by their own rules and no one really knows what to expect, so even citizens themselves are not really sure what will set them off.”
Other passengers said they welcomed any help if it means long wait times in TSA security lines can be shortened.
“If it helps the wait time diminish, I’m not worried about what ICE is actually doing,” Paul Adkins, a passenger at Newark Airport, told CNN Sunday. “If it’s just a manpower gap stoppage to make things run smoother, that’s great.”
Not all airports are dealing with long security lines
While many airports across the country are grappling with disruptions, some are not experiencing long security lines on Sunday.
Nashville International Airport posted a video on social media showing light TSA lines, with the caption: “TSA checkpoint lines are operating efficiently, keeping passengers moving.”
US flight attendants unions demand pay for TSA workers, citing safety concerns
Flight attendant union leaders representing more than 100,000 employees are demanding pay for TSA workers amid the partial government shutdown, citing safety concerns about the planned deployment of ICE agents at airports and a lack of security in general.
“Flight Attendants will not allow the TSA and the frontline Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) who keep us safe to be used as pawns in this dangerous game, nor will we fly in an aviation system that doesn’t put our safety and security first,” the unions said today in a joint statement.
The ICE agents being sent to airports do not have the same training TSA officers have and work six months to get, the unions pointed out.
It is unclear what duties ICE agents will be asked to perform.
“Pay the people who are already trained to protect us from terror attacks today, especially as the war with Iran increases the desire to strike against Americans,” the statement added.
ICE to be deployed at US airports as hundreds of TSA workers quit amid shutdown. Here's the latest
More than 400 Transportation Security Administration officers have quit since the ongoing partial government shutdown began a month ago over disputes about funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Senate lawmakers continued negotiations today with many eager to pass a bill before Easter recess begins at the end of this week.
Starting tomorrow, federal officials say Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be deployed to US airports where travelers have had to wait in long security lines due to a shortage of workers.
Here’s the latest:
- TSA callouts: More than 11% of TSA workers called out on March 21, according to DHS, their highest number nationwide since the shutdown started. For six straight days last week, TSA callout rates hovered above 9%, according to a TSA spokesperson.
- ICE deployment: Immigration officers will be sent to US airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan leading the effort, President Donald Trump announced today. Homan told CNN’s “State of the Union” agents would be there to release TSA officers from “non-significant roles.”
- Contradicting plans: Meanwhile, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy appeared to suggest a broader role for ICE agents, citing their experience handling similar screening equipment at border checkpoints.
- Funding talks stall: Senate Majority Leader John Thune says Republicans are waiting for Democrats to respond to an offer from the White House as they race to strike a deal before a planned holiday break. Earlier in the day, lawmakers were making “some headway” in talks to reopen DHS, Thune told reporters.
Deploying ICE agents to airports likely won’t improve wait times, former ICE director says
ICE agents assisting TSA officers with airport security is likely a political stunt and won’t do much to help alleviate hourslong wait times, former acting ICE Director John Sandweg told CNN today.
“It’s hard to look at this and say this was driven by operations, and unfortunately, (it’s) probably driven more by politics,” he said.
President Donald Trump said ICE agents will be deployed to various airports Monday, overseen by White House border czar Tom Homan. Democratic lawmakers and a federal workers’ union blasted the plan, saying ICE agents are “untrained” and “put people’s lives at risk.”
Sandweg, who worked in the Obama administration, said he’s “optimistic” Homan will deploy agents as minimally as possible, placing them at exits. But he warned of “chaos” were ICE agents to be used for immigration enforcement.
“When you start seeing arrests at the immigration checkpoint or US citizens being detained, that’s when the potential for chaos kicks in,” he said.
The partial government shutdown means TSA agents nationwide are not being paid. Many are calling out of work, with 11% of the workforce calling out yesterday — the highest since the shutdown began, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Inside one JFK terminal, long lines but little panic as travelers wait and help each other through
As travel disruptions ripple across the country, the crowd inside Terminal 5 of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York struck a surprisingly calm and steady mood — if a 45-minute security wait can be called steady.
Timing is everything. Travelers who arrived early shuffle forward with patience. Those who didn’t are easy to spot — checking the clock and asking others if they can squeeze ahead.
JFK’s website estimated a 27-minute wait, but in reality it took 45. At Terminal 5, no TSA PreCheck line is in service. Instead, some airlines offered a paid priority line option — JetBlue charges $25 — roughly half the length of the general line.
One frustrated woman confronts a weary TSA employee, asking what’s wrong and is told bluntly, “Because of the government shutdown.”
“That’s such a scam,” she says angrily and marches off.
Eight lines stretch across the terminal. People pass the time comparing flight times. When one traveler says her flight is in 40 minutes, a woman kindly moves aside and lets her cut: “Well, go!” she says.
Off to the side, eight passengers in wheelchairs wait together. It wasn’t clear when they would be brought forward. One elderly gentleman in the group anxiously tells an agent his flight leaves in less than an hour.
A traveler named Roe, heading back to her family in Arizona, grows nervous despite having three hours before departure. She takes no chances and asks a stranger for help paying the priority line fee.
Small moments cut through the stress. A young boy traveling to Palm Beach with his grandmother greets everyone in line, one by one, drawing smiles from travelers who, moments earlier, were visibly tense.
A brief interruption cuts through the monotomy of the line — flashing lights and an ambulance wheeling a passenger out on a stretcher. Minutes later, a TSA agent leans into the ear of another and says another passenger needs medical attention.
But the line keeps moving.
Thune "hitting pause" on DHS funding talks while awaiting Democrats' response
Republicans are waiting for Democrats to respond to an offer from the White House as they race to find a deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security before a planned holiday break.
“We’re hitting pause for a minute, and everyone’s collecting themselves and figuring out where they want to be,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Sunday afternoon.
A bipartisan group of Senate appropriators was going to meet with White House border czar Tom Homan Saturday but the plan was called off as Democrats continue preparing to counter the White House’s latest offer in the DHS funding negotiations.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins said it was “very disappointing,” telling reporters, “They were supposed to come with an offer last night, and instead they canceled the meeting altogether. So I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Homan met with senators twice at the end of last week after the White House put forth a proposal with several measures to rein in immigration enforcement but did not include Democrats’ demands to require agents to remove masks and require judicial warrants for immigration arrests.
GOP Sen. Katie Britt noted by Sunday evening it will have been 48 hours since the last bipartisan meeting with Homan, so “I certainly hope that we do something by then.”
Some of America’s largest airports had more than a third of TSA agents call out Saturday
Airports across the country faced their highest number of TSA workers calling out yesterday as they continue to work without pay, leading to hourslong wait times in the country’s busiest airports.
More than 11% of TSA workers called out on March 21, according to the Department of Homeland Security, their highest number nationwide since the partial government shutdown began a month ago over disputes about funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Half the nation’s busiest airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport had more than a third of agents call out. At William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, nearly half of agents did not show up to work.
It comes at a time when TSA workers have not been paid, leading to some calling out in protest while others show up to work, receiving food assistance from food banks as lawmakers on both sides continue to blame each other for the shutdown.
LaGuardia travelers wait 3 hours to get through security: "I've never seen it like this in my lifetime"
Photos captured travelers waiting in lengthy security lines at New York’s LaGuardia Airport today.
Emily North told CNN it took her three hours to get through security. At one point she even waited outside the terminal.
“It was a really bad wait – people were starting to get extremely nervous and upset towards the end,” North said. “One person near me had to rebook going to a different airport because there were no free seats on flights to their destination left that day.”
At one point, North said, someone in line shouted to those behind, “Who wants to trade places for $500?”
“They almost made a deal before a TSA officer stepped in and stopped it,” she said. North said she missed her original flight and managed to get the last seat on the next plane to Chicago.
“Lots of people are running out of options to rebook on later flights today and I don’t know what they’ll end up doing,” North said.
Jen Porter also said it took her three hours to get through security.
“I’ve never seen it like this in my lifetime,” she said.
