What we covered here
• ICE deploys to airports: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been deployed to 14 airports today to help during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. The Transportation Security Administration has faced growing callouts from officers who have gone without pay since DHS funding lapsed in February.
• Growing travel woes: Travelers have been dealing with worsening airport wait times, with George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston warning flyers it could take more than four hours to get through. LaGuardia Airport in New York was reopened this afternoon after a fatal collision between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck. 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 last night rejected a potential off-ramp to end the shutdown, sources told CNN, as he’s told Republicans to “only settle” if they can pass a federal elections overhaul bill.
Our live coverage of the TSA staffing shortage has ended for the day. Get the latest here.
Here's the latest as the sun sets on another hectic air travel day
Several airports across the United States continued to see long lines and chaotic crowds today prompted by a growing number of callouts from Transportation Security Administration officers who have gone without pay since funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed in February.
To help with the staffing shortages, DHS has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to 14 airports seeing significant impacts – a move condemned by some Senate Democrats.
Here’s the latest:
- ICE at airports: Hundreds of immigration officers have been deployed to help with crowd control and “help bolster TSA efforts” to keep skies safe, according to Lauren Bis, acting assistant secretary for public affairs with DHS. In a statement to CNN today, Bis declined to clarify the total number of agents deployed to each airport and whether the list of airports impacted is expected to expand.
- Funding talks: President Donald Trump has said he will not strike a DHS funding deal unless Democrats back the “SAVE America Act” – a bill criticized by Democrats, saying it would create unnecessary barriers to vote. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called Trump’s demands “unrealistic” and has indicated that he is open to excluding immigration enforcement funding from DHS funding.
- Trump meeting: Tonight, a group of Senate Republicans met with Trump to discuss the party’s approach to DHS funding negotiations. After the meeting, GOP Sen. Katie Britt said lawmakers had found a solution but did not offer details. Soon after, Thune said he had no immediate plans to announce a deal.
Markwayne Mullin confirmed to lead a DHS in turmoil
Markwayne Mullin will serve as Donald Trump’s next Department of Homeland Security secretary, elevating the US senator to helm the agency at the center of the president’s controversial immigration enforcement effort and an ongoing shutdown.
The Senate confirmed the nomination on Monday night, less than three weeks after Trump tapped Mullin to take over from embattled Secretary Kristi Noem.
Mullin is set to take over a department in turmoil. Its funding lapsed on February 14, and while lawmakers and the administration have engaged in negotiations in an effort to end the shutdown, the impasse has so far persisted. Democrats have demanded changes to immigration enforcement procedures and tactics following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.
The final confirmation vote was 54 to 45, with GOP Sen. Rand Paul voting “no” and Democratic Sens. John Fetterman and Martin Heinrich voting “yes.”
Thune says he hopes there's a DHS funding solution, but has no announcement at the moment
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said “hope so” when asked about GOP Sen. Katie Britt saying there is a solution on DHS funding amid the ongoing shutdown, but when asked if he’s about to announce one, he said “not at the moment.”
This comes after Britt told reporters “yes” when asked if they had found a solution after she and other Republican senators returned from a meeting at the White House to discuss DHS funding, but did not offer details, saying she would let Thune share more.
It’s unclear exactly what the contours of any solution might be, nor if Democrats would be on board to give the votes to pass it.
GOP senator suggests lawmakers may have found solution on DHS funding, but details unclear
GOP Sen. Katie Britt told reporters “yes” when asked if they had found a solution after she and other Republican senators returned from a meeting at the White House to discuss DHS funding, but did not offer details, saying she would let Senate Majority Leader John Thune share more.
It’s unclear exactly what the contours of solution might be or if Democrats would be on board to give the votes to pass it.
CNN has reached out to Thune’s office to ask if the Majority Leader plans to speak on the issue.
CNN reported earlier on Monday that a group of Senate Republicans were planning to meet with President Donald Trump on Monday night to discuss the party’s approach to the DHS funding negotiations, after Trump rejected a potential off ramp on Sunday, according to three sources familiar with the meeting.
DHS declines to report number of ICE agents deployed to US airports
The exact number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deployed to 14 airports across the country today is unclear after the Department of Homeland Security declined to answer CNN’s questions about the number of agents assigned to each airport and what tasks they are completing.
“For operational security reasons, we are not going to confirm the locations of our officers,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told CNN in a statement this afternoon.
DHS also declined to answer questions on whether the department plans to expand the list of airports where immigration officials are deployed.
“President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted,” Bis added. “This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions.”
GOP senators to meet with Trump Monday night to discuss DHS funding
A group of Senate Republicans are planning to meet with President Donald Trump on Monday night to discuss the party’s approach to the Department of Homeland Security funding negotiations, after Trump rejected a potential off ramp on Sunday, three sources familiar with the meeting told CNN.
GOP Sem. Katie Britt is among the senators in attendance, one of the sources told CNN.
Britt along with Sens. Lindsey Graham, Steve Daines and Bernie Moreno were spotted at the White House early Monday evening.
Lawmakers were working toward the possibility of a bipartisan deal that would fund every part of the department except for enforcement operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but Trump rejected the idea as he took to Truth Social to attack Democrats for not backing the “SAVE America Act,” a federal elections overhaul bill that faces near-impossible odds in the Senate.
Since Trump’s post, negotiations have been somewhat at a standstill as lawmakers regroup and both sides figure out their next move. The timing of the meeting is fluid and based on Trump’s return to the White House. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.
Schumer accuses Trump of trying to "sabotage" DHS funding talks over SAVE Act
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized President Donald Trump after the president said this weekend he does not want to make a deal on Department of Homeland Security funding unless Democrats back the “SAVE America Act” voter ID bill.
“Democrats are going to keep working in good faith. Donald Trump, meanwhile, is trying to sabotage negotiations, demanding that talks stop entirely until Congress passes the Save Act, a bill that has nothing, nothing to do with paying TSA workers and nothing to do with ending the shutdown,” the Minority Leader said on the Senate Floor.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday that Trump’s demand was “unrealistic.”
Schumer went on to accuse Trump of only caring about “his own election” in his efforts to get the voter ID bill passed.
“What a ridiculous thing to do. What a callous thing to do,” Schumer said of Trump attempting to link the two issues, “He doesn’t give a damn about the American people. He cares about his own election. He thinks the SAVE Act, which isn’t going to pass, will change how the election comes out. And he uses millions and millions of Americans as hostages. How can our Republican friends on the other side of the aisle go along with this? It stinks on its face.”
Thune open to funding DHS without ICE immigration enforcement included
Senate Majority Leader John Thune left the door open to funding the rest of the Department of Homeland Security without ICE immigration enforcement funding. The GOP leader spoke with Trump after White House staff discussed this option with the president on Sunday, but Trump rejected the idea.
“The nice thing about ICE as a general matter is that we did pre-fund it last summer,” Thune said. “But yeah, I mean, if we have to go that route, that would be an option. We aren’t taking any options off the table. I think right now, this is still a very fluid situation, and hopefully will become more clear in the next few days.”
The South Dakota Republican indicated he has not made a decision about keeping the Senate in session amid the shutdown, effectively cancelling their 2-week recess set to start at the end of this week.
“I think right now it’s Monday, ask me about that on Thursday. We’ll see how it goes this week and how much progress we make, and if we can find a way to get things funded,” said Thune.
Thune told reporters, “discussions continue and we’ll see where it goes. Today is kind of a day where we’re sorting some things out, but hopefully as the week wears on, we’ll go into a path forward to get this done.”
Thune calls Trump demand to tie voter ID bill to DHS funding unrealistic
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called President Donald Trump’s demand tying passage of his voter ID bill to Department of Homeland Security funding unrealistic, as the bill does not have the votes to pass the Senate.
“I think it’s pretty clear, my views about the SAVE Act — the SAVE America Act,” said Thune, who has time and again emphasized that Republicans don’t have the Democratic support needed to pass the package, or the GOP support to change the filibuster.
“It’s something that I think there’s almost unanimous agreement in the conference on the policy, but, you know, the idea that we would have to guarantee its passage in order to open up the government, I think we all know that’s not realistic,” he added.
Trump said Sunday he doesn’t want to make a deal on DHS funding unless Democrats back the “SAVE America Act.” Democrats have criticized the bill, saying it would create unnecessary barriers to vote.
Schumer: ICE agents will make US airports less safe
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is warning against the deployment of ICE agents at airports across the country as lapsed Department of Homeland Security funding prompts growing callouts from TSA officers going without pay.
“ICE agents performing the work of TSA officers are not going to make our airports any safer. It’s going to make them less safe because ICE agents aren’t trained in airport security,” Schumer said.
Instead, ICE agents will remind people of the “chaos” the agency has created, Schumer said.
“It’s a terrible idea that could backfire on the country, and on Donald Trump,” Schumer said.
Computer that tracks wait times at Atlanta airport not designed for excessively long lines, official says
The TSA wait times tracker is down at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where earlier in the day security lines stretched outside the airport.
The wait times computer was not designed to work outside the security checkpoint and cannot properly track the large number of people currently at the airport, general manager Ricky Smith said.
“Due to current federal conditions, passengers are advised to allow at least 4 hours or more for domestic and international screenings,” the TSA wait time page for the Atlanta airport said.
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, Smith said earlier.
ICE agents meant to deter potential threats and help with line management, former TSA official says
Travelers passing through at least 14 airports today may notice Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who were sent there to help manage crowds, as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown enters another week and its impact on the TSA workforce grows.
With more than 400 TSA workers who have quit and thousands of others calling out from work, former TSA Administrator John Pistole said it exacerbates a threat. “Are there soft targets that somebody is trying to exploit because they see it as a vulnerability now,” he said. “Or worse, there is a potential terrorist who actually thinks they can get through a security checkpoint.”
While ICE agents aren’t qualified as TSA screeners due to lack of training, Pistole told CNN’s Brianna Keilar Monday, they can help with crowd control and queue management and serve as a visible deterrent to potential security threats, especially at a time of heightened tensions in the war with Iran.
But still, one TSA worker, Cameron Cochems told CNN’s Boris Sanchez Monday, some of his colleagues feel ICE’s presence is doing more harm than good.
“At the end of the day all our officers care about is getting paid,” he said. “Having ICE agents and officers at our airports, they’re going to be sitting at exit(s), they’re going to be doing things that they can’t be trained to do.”
NAACP president condemns ICE’s presence at airports, calls agents “Trump’s secret police”
The NAACP president denounced President Donald Trump’s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to US airports.
“Trump’s secret police are now stationed at airport checkpoints. They are inadequately trained, armed, and instructed to profile people based on race and accent,” NAACP National President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. “What could possibly go wrong? We’ve seen this movie before.”
In the statement, Johnson also criticized Trump’s allies in Congress for rejecting a proposal to pay Transportation Security Administration agents.
“Don’t forget that Trump’s cronies in Congress tanked a proposal to pay TSA agents. This is a deliberate decision, it’s not a bandaid for a lapse in funding. This is an intentional escalation by Donald Trump,” Johnson said.
Passengers react to ICE presence at airports amid TSA staffing crunch
Immigration agents were visible at some major airports today, drawing reactions from travelers as the partial government shutdown continued to strain Transportation Security Administration staffing.
At Newark Liberty International Airport, one passenger told CNN he couldn’t believe ICE agents were there fully paid, while the TSA officers are actually doing the work.
This morning, ICE agents were spotted walking in Terminal A around 6:30 a.m. ET but have not had a visible presence in the terminal since.
One woman, who arrived for her flight to California over three hours early, hopes they continue to stay out of the way.
“Just let TSA do their job. Pay them full to do their job. Don’t try to swap out people who don’t do that job… Like, I’m a mom. I’m not going to leave my kid with the woman who watches my dog on vacation. Both caretakers. Different jobs.”
A CNN correspondent observed ICE agents standing around at LaGuardia Airport. One was seen wearing a mask and another ordering a coffee at Starbucks.
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, CNN saw ICE agents walking through the terminal and monitoring the area.
CNN’s Sabrina Castro contributed to this report.
New Jersey senator: ICE at airports is "striking fear" into many travelers
Sen. Cory Booker told reporters that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at several of the nation’s airports today are “striking fear” in travelers and many airlines told him they want agents out of airports.
He emphasized the hours-long wait times passengers are seeing and called on President Donald Trump to fund the Transportation Security Administration.
More than 400 TSA officers have quit during the ongoing shutdown, agency says
As TSA officers around the country enter another week without pay during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown, hundreds have quit while a trove of others have called out, according to DHS officials.
More than 400 TSA officers have left their jobs while thousands of others called out from work because they can’t afford gas, childcare, food or rent, according to Lauren Bis, acting assistant secretary for public affairs with the Department of Homeland Security.
On Sunday, TSA officer call out rates reached 11.76% — the highest of the shutdown with more than 3,450 agents out from work, she said.
Here’s a look at call out rates from Sunday at major airports across the US, according to TSA:
- 38.1% – Baltimore/Washington International Airport
- 37.4% – John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York)
- 24.7% – Pittsburgh International Airport
- 24.4% – Philadelphia International Airport
- 21.7% – LaGuardia Airport (New York)
- 39.1% – Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston)
- 20.3% – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
- 42.3% – New Orleans International Airport
- 41.5% – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
At more than a dozen airports across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been deployed as of Monday to help with crowd control and “help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions,” Bis, said.
Trump tells lawmakers to “make this one for Jesus” as he urges them to skip Easter recess
President Donald Trump reiterated on Monday his demand to tie Department of Homeland Security funding to the “SAVE America Act,” calling on lawmakers to tough it out and “make this one for Jesus” by remaining in Washington, DC, over the Easter recess to pass it.
“I’m tying Homeland Security into voter identification, with picture and proof of citizen citizenship in order to vote — and those two items are the most important thing having to do with Homeland Security,” Trump said at a roundtable event in Tennessee.
“It should be part of the homeland security bill, and I’m requesting that the Republican senators do that immediately. You don’t have to take a fast vote. Don’t worry about Easter, going home. In fact, make this one for Jesus,’” he added.
Here's what the TSA situation looks like at airports around the US
As talks to end the partial government shutdown remain stalled, Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages are causing headaches for travelers nationwide.
Some TSA officers have quit or called out sick amid missed paychecks, contributing to long security lines at airports around the country.
Here’s what we’re seeing on the ground today:
ICE agents report for duty at multiple airports across the country
As of Monday afternoon, several ICE agents had reported for duty at multiple airports across the country.
Video from CNN affiliate KHOU shows ICE agents wearing “ERO” and “ICE” vests walking in groups at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
In north Houston, CNN affiliate KTRK spotted ICE agents at William P. Hobby Airport.
CNN affiliate WBBM also captured video of agents at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. CNN affiliate WDSU filmed agents at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport early Monday morning.
ICE agents have been deployed to 14 airports across the country, according to White House border czar Tom Homan, after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
