Iran War and DHS Shutdown Cause Severe TSA Delays as ICE Agents Deployed to 14 Airports Including Houston
A prolonged partial DHS shutdown has left TSA officers unpaid since mid‑February, triggering resignations and mass call‑outs that have produced severe security delays — at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental nearly 40% of TSA staff were absent, only two of five terminals were staffed, lines stretched multiple floors with announced waits exceeding four hours, PreCheck and CLEAR lanes were closed, and many travelers missed flights. As a stopgap, the administration has deployed ICE agents to assist with non‑screening duties at 14 airports, including JFK, Hartsfield‑Jackson and Houston, a move that’s become entangled in GOP demands to tie DHS funding to the SAVE America Act and has prompted sharp Democratic warnings about public‑safety risks.
📌 Key Facts
- The administration moved from proposing to actively implementing a plan to send ICE agents to assist TSA at airports; ICE agents were deployed Monday March 23, 2026, to 14 airports including JFK, Hartsfield‑Jackson and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental.
- CBS News observed roughly two dozen armed ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations agents at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental on March 23, stationed along security lines and directing passengers at choke points while TSA officers continued ID checks and screening; Fox and CBS report ICE deployments were intended to manage crowds and non‑screening duties amid the shutdown.
- TSA officers have been unpaid since mid‑February because of a partial federal shutdown, producing resignations and high call‑out rates that created severe staffing shortages (nearly 40% of TSA staff called out at Houston on Monday), leaving only two of five terminals staffed there.
- Severe passenger impacts at Houston included closed PreCheck and CLEAR lanes, a three‑floor security queue stretching into the underground train, announced wait times exceeding four hours (with many travelers reporting three‑plus‑hour waits), ADA access problems for wheelchair users, and multiple missed flights — airport announcements warned passengers to contact airlines to rebook.
- Political negotiations over DHS funding are stalled as of March 23; former President Trump demanded DHS funding be tied to his SAVE America Act requiring proof of citizenship for voting, calling for the measures to be 'welded in' to a larger bill and urging Republicans not to make a deal without it.
- That demand has produced GOP friction: some Republican lawmakers (including Thune and Kennedy) have publicly considered funding TSA and other DHS components without including ICE as a potential off‑ramp to ease airport operations.
- Democratic leaders reacted strongly to the ICE deployment, framing it as a public‑safety threat and using stark rhetoric about potential violence; reporting notes the shutdown timeline has continued to worsen (coverage updated from 36 days to 38 days), underscoring the unresolved crisis driving the operational changes.
📊 Relevant Data
28% of Black Americans, 27% of Hispanic Americans, 21% of Asian/Pacific Islander Americans, and 18% of White Americans lack a non-expired driver's license with their current name and/or address.
Who Lacks ID in America Today? An Exploration of Voter ID Access, Barriers, and Knowledge — Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland
There have been 77 documented instances of noncitizen voting in the United States from 1999 to 2023.
Four Things to Know about Noncitizen Voting — Bipartisan Policy Center
Jet fuel prices have increased by 57% since the start of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, contributing to airfare increases of 2% to 16% across major U.S. airlines.
Iran War Has Sent Airfares Climbing—Here's What To Expect — Forbes
Black and Latino households pay 13-18% more on average for energy per square foot of housing compared to White households.
Race, rates, and energy insecurity: exploring racial disparities in utility rates and hardships — Nature Scientific Reports
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- At Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, nearly 40% of TSA employees called out on Monday, leaving only two of the airport’s five terminals staffed by TSA officers.
- Security lines in Terminal A became a three‑floor queue stretching into the airport’s underground train system, with announced TSA wait times exceeding four hours and some travelers reporting three‑plus‑hour waits in both staffed terminals.
- CBS News directly observed roughly two dozen armed ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations agents at Bush Intercontinental stationed along security lines, directing passengers at choke points while TSA officers continued to handle ID checks and screening.
- Houston airport announcements are warning passengers that, because of the federal shutdown, they may not clear security in time for departing flights and should contact airlines to rebook; some travelers have missed flights, with one gate agent telling a passenger that about 40 people missed a single leg the day before.
- PreCheck and CLEAR lanes at Houston were closed, forcing all passengers through standard lines with no access to food while waiting; the route is not ADA‑compliant, requiring separate handling for wheelchair users.
- Confirms that ICE agents actually arrived at JFK and Hartsfield-Jackson on March 23, 2026, as part of deployments to 14 airports.
- Provides direct Democratic leadership reactions framing the ICE deployment as a public-safety threat, not just an operational stopgap.
- Adds specific rhetoric about potential shootings and killings, indicating how far opposition leaders are willing to go in characterizing the risk to travelers.
- Advances the shutdown timeline from 36 days in earlier coverage to 38 days, indicating no resolution and worsening conditions.
- Documents Trump’s Memphis speech where he demands SAVE America be 'welded in' to DHS funding and tells Republicans to 'make this one for Jesus,' adding color and specificity to his linkage of the two issues.
- Introduces new intra‑GOP dynamics, with Thune and Kennedy both publicly mulling a path to fund TSA and other DHS components without ICE as a potential off‑ramp.
- Trump used a Memphis law‑enforcement roundtable to insist that Republicans "don’t make any deal on anything" regarding DHS funding unless it includes the SAVE America Act requiring proof of citizenship to vote.
- He described his goal as merging DHS funding with the SAVE America Act into "the great, big, beautiful bill" and said voter ID and proof of citizenship are parts of homeland security.
- Fox reiterates that ICE agents were deployed to airports Monday to assist TSA in managing crowds and non‑screening duties amid unpaid TSA staff and long security lines.
- Confirms that the administration’s plan to send ICE agents to assist TSA at airports has moved from proposal to active implementation.
- Reinforces that TSA officers have been unpaid since mid‑February, leading to resignations and call‑outs that necessitated ICE support.
- Provides a mainstream network TV verification that ICE is now part of the stopgap for maintaining airport security throughput during the shutdown.