Where things stand
• ICE deploys to airports: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are heading to 13 airports today to help with crowd management as the Transportation Security Administration faces growing callouts from officers during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
• Growing travel woes: Travelers have been dealing with worsening airport wait times as TSA workers have gone without pay since funding for DHS lapsed in mid-February. Track wait times at major airports here.
• No end to shutdown in sight: There are few signs lawmakers will reach an agreement to fund DHS, which includes TSA, ahead of a scheduled holiday break. President Donald Trump injected a new demand Sunday, saying he doesn’t want to make a deal unless Democrats support an elections overhaul bill.
More than a third of Atlanta airport TSA officers have called out, general manager says
More than a third of Transportation Security Administration officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have called out, as travelers continue to wait in hourslong lines to get through security, Ricky Smith, the airport’s general manager, said.
Smith said on CNN the callout rate at the airport is about 36%.
He said the airport is doing what it can to help.
“We’re giving them food vouchers,” Smith said. “We have our concessionaire partners that are also providing meals to them. We’re providing free parking.”
Trump says ICE will conduct arrests at airports, but "that's not why they're there"
President Donald Trump said Monday that federal immigration officers will conduct arrests of undocumented immigrants as he sends them to help struggling Transportation Security Administration officers at US airports.
“Yeah, yeah,” Trump told reporters. “That’s why the Democrats are going crazy.”
Appearing to backtrack a little bit, Trump added: “They love it, because they’re able to arrest illegals as they come into the country. That’s very fertile territory, but that’s not why they’re there; they’re really there to help.”
Trump took credit for the idea of putting ICE agents at US airports when asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. He said he called border czar Tom Homan about it, who was on board.
Trump also threatened to bring in the National Guard at airports if the situation doesn’t improve.
“I want to thank ICE, because they stepped in so so strongly. They’ll do great. And if that’s not enough, I’ll bring in the National Guard,” Trump said.
Tom Homan told Dana Bash on Sunday that ICE agents will be at airports to alleviate some of the burden on TSA workers, specifically with security. ICE has previously conducted immigration arrests at airports.
“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. Not trained in that? We won’t do that,” he said, noting how ICE agents “are assigned at many airports across the country already.”
"One person is doing the job of five people," Chicago-bound passengers say
A small group of passengers on a Chicago-bound United Airlines flight spent the night inside Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport after Sunday’s fatal crash.
Diana Cruz and Katie Rojas said their flight was delayed Sunday night because of a light out on board and an odor.
The Port Authority fire rescue vehicle involved in the deadly crash with the Air Canada plane was heading to their aircraft.
“They just had us evacuate, and then they just had us get our bags,” Cruz said. “We’ve been here all night.”
The group said they have been rebooked on a flight Monday afternoon, but if there are more cancellations and delays, they might forgo flying altogether and drive.
Rojas said they are now more aware of and worried about the safety of air travel in light of the crash and staffing troubles facing TSA and air traffic control.
“I think it’s definitely concerning during this shutdown if there’s so many staff shortages, we can’t really ensure that everyone’s where they need to be or are doing what they’re supposed to,” Rojas said. “One person’s doing the job of five people.”
“Just kind of glad that we’re all safe now that we have learned about it because it could have been us, it could have been anyone at this point,” Cruz said.
Here's how TSA officers get paid
Just as many travelers faced long, winding security lines last week across the US during the partial government shutdown, many may not realize the complicated path money takes to reach Transportation Security Administration officers’ paychecks.
There are about 61,000 TSA employees currently caught in the middle as Congress remains locked in a stalemate over funding the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA. Considered essential workers, they must remain on the job at the nation’s more than 430 commercial airports during the shutdown, even though they won’t get paid until the lapse ends.
TSA’s budget is funded in part by a fee you pay when booking your plane ticket. That passenger fee, also known as the September 11 Security Fee, was established by Congress in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. It is currently $5.60 per one-way trip and capped at $11.20 per round trip.
The fee is collected by the airline you book with and is itemized with taxes and carrier-imposed fees on your receipt. The airlines then pass along the fee revenue to TSA.
Trump says masked immigration agents not an "appropriate look" for airports
President Donald Trump said today that he asked immigration agents working at airports not to wear masks because it wasn’t an “appropriate look” for the setting.
Trump dispatched the agents to airports to supplement Transportation Security Administration workers amid a funding impasse that has shut down the Department of Homeland Security for over a month, leading to long wait times at certain airports.
Among the points of dispute in the funding disagreement is whether immigration agents should be prohibited from wearing masks. Trump on Monday said he generally supports masking but nevertheless did not want them worn at airports.
“For purposes of the airport, I’ve requested that they take off the mask,” he said. “And I believe they are willing to do that.”
DC resident misses flight after a 6-hour security wait in New Orleans
Washington, DC, resident Adam Robins, 31, was scheduled to fly from New Orleans to Reagan Washington National Airport on a 5:36 p.m. flight Sunday after a weekend wedding.
He arrived at the airport at noon Sunday and said he finally got through security at 6:30 p.m. — after his flight had already departed.
Now he’s on a flight to Dallas this morning and on to DC — turning what was supposed to be a three-hour direct flight into a nearly 30-hour journey.
“I have a pet at home and had to scramble to make arrangements for someone to get a key to check in on her,” Robins, a physician working for a startup as a strategy manager, said.
“It was miserable, everyone looked so defeated.”
What it's like at the Atlanta airport this morning
ICE agents have been spotted walking the perimeter of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as long lines of passengers form at the terminals The immigration agents have been sent to multiple airports to assist with security to ease the Transportation Security Administration’s workload during the partial government shutdown.
The agents were not acting as TSA officers or checking folks in, CNN observed. Atlanta Police has added extra officers to supplement ICE’s presence. Passengers are currently waiting over three hours in line.
A few Atlanta police officers told CNN their days off were canceled and they are working 12-hour shifts to support their airport roles.
CNN affiliate WANF captured the scene in Atlanta:
Passengers at LaGuardia wait for airport to reopen
Passengers at LaGuardia Airport are camping out inside of Terminal B as the airport remains closed in light of the fatal crash overnight.
CNN saw passengers unpacking their suitcases to form makeshift beds as they prepare for a long day inside of the airport.
One couple stood looking at the board of cancelations before finding a spot on the floor to wait until the airport closure is lifted.
The airport is set to reopen at 2 p.m. ET following the fatal collision between a passenger jet and emergency vehicle that killed the plane’s pilot and first officer.
Security line stretches outside Atlanta airport
Travelers at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are waiting in extremely long security lines as the partial government shutdown continues.
CNN’s Ryan Young shows a TSA PreCheck line that stretches outside the building:
Travelers at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are waiting in extremely long security lines as the partial government shutdown continues. CNN's Ryan Young shows a TSA PreCheck line that stretches outside the building.
Trump urges "NO MASKS" for ICE agents at airports
President Donald Trump is urging Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to not wear masks while assisting with security at US airports, while refusing to budge on agents wearing them during immigration operations.
“I am a BIG proponent of ICE wearing masks as they search for, and are forced to deal with, hardened criminals,” Trump said in a social media post, as he once again criticized his predecessor’s administration for its border policies.
“I would greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS, when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports, etc. Thank you!” Trump added.
One of the demands Democrats have made in the ongoing battle in Congress over Department of Homeland Security funding is that ICE agents not wear masks. Both Republicans and Democrats have blamed each other for the funding lapse and its impact on TSA agents and airport wait times across the country.
Border czar Tom Homan told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that ICE agents will be at airports to alleviate some of the burden on TSA workers, specifically with security.
CNN reported earlier on Monday that ICE agents had appeared for duty at US airports across the country without masks.
13 US airports will see ICE officers at TSA checkpoints today
Thirteen US airports will see Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints today, a source with knowledge of the plans told CNN.
The 13 airports include:
- Chicago-O’Hare International Airport
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York)
- LaGuardia Airport (New York)
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
- Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
- Newark Liberty International Airport
- Philadelphia International Airport
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- Pittsburgh International Airport
- Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, Florida)
The list is subject to change and different plans have been made for how to utilize the agents at each airport, the source said. For example, some ICE agents may monitor lines of passengers while others help with bins.
ICE agents begin appearing at US airports unmasked
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have begun appearing for duty at US airports across the country without masks.
The agents are wearing identifiable insignia, as many travelers are reporting seeing agents monitoring crowds.
Jim Wold, a passenger traveling to Houston from New Orleans, told CNN at 5:30 a.m. local time, the line extended out into the parking garage to check his bag. Six minutes later, he could see ICE agents at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, directing people and providing security.
By 5:43 a.m. CT, he was in line for TSA PreCheck inside the building, a line that was shorter compared to standard screening.
Long lines snake through Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport
Long lines filled with passengers are shuffling through Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as travel disruptions intensify at airports across the country today.
TSA officers caught in the middle of the partial government shutdown are at risk of missing a second paycheck.
TSA screening lines could be seen snaking through baggage claim areas and out the door at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International this morning.
Starting today, ICE agents will have a presence at airports across the country to assist with security and ease the Transportation Security Administration’s workload, as talks to fund the Department of Homeland Security have yet to yield a breakthrough, President Donald Trump said.
One traveler in Atlanta described the airport as “mass chaos.” As of this morning, wait times at major airports varied, with the highest of 150 minutes recorded at Houston’s George Bush International.
