TSA Workers Paid as Five Airports Restore Lines; ICE Still At Airports
Key Takeaways
- TSA agents begin receiving back pay after weeks without pay due to the DHS shutdown.
- Wait times improved at major airports as TSA pay resumes.
- ICE operations remain funded and present at airports during TSA pay restoration.
TSA Pay Restored
TSA workers began receiving pay after six weeks without compensation.
Travelers at Newark saw wait times drop to 10-20 minutes while LaGuardia still experienced delays up to two hours.
More than 500 TSA workers resigned nationwide during the shutdown.
Analysts cautioned that operational damage would not vanish immediately.
Operational Strain and ICE at Airports
ICE officers continued to be deployed at airports to assist with screening and ID checks.
ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security.
Lawmakers are pushing for a bipartisan deal to reopen TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard.
Five Airports Clearing Lines
Five out of the 10 largest U.S. airports had restored TSA checkpoint operations to pre-shutdown levels.
Shorter lines were increasingly evident at major hubs.
Some airports still faced challenges as staffing levels had not fully recovered.
The funding deal included TSA pay but left ICE funding unresolved.
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