• President Donald Trump instructed his border czar to deploy ICE agents to US airports.
• Airport security lines have stretched for three hours in some places as unpaid TSA agents call out.
• Trump said ICE agents are able to arrest foreigners at the airports.

Air travel just got even more chaotic.

After weeks of airport security lines spilling into sidewalks and parking garages — as unpaid TSA officers call out en masse during the partial government shutdown — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been sent to airports nationwide to help manage the crowds.

President Donald Trump first threatened the action in a Saturday TruthSocial post after Congress, for the fifth time, failed to reach a deal on Friday to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

“I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote. He instructed his border czar, Tom Homan, to lead the effort.

In a statement shared with Business Insider, DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said the agency is not releasing an official list of airports with ICE agents: “For operational security reasons, we are not going to confirm the locations of our officers.”

Some have been revealed.

Reuters and ABC News have reported that ICE agents — who, unlike TSA agents, are still being paid during the shutdown — are stationed at the following US airports as of Monday, citing social media posts and officials.

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
• Houston Hobby Airport (HOU)
• Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
• Fort Myers’ Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW)
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
• San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU)
• New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

Several X posts show ICE agents standing at TSA checkpoints and talking to passengers on Monday. They are identifiable by their green and beige uniforms with a “Police ICE” patch. Trump said in a Monday TruthSocial post that he wanted ICE agents to be maskless at airports — they have routinely worn masks and uniforms lacking nametags during immigration raids.

However, few details were given about what these ICE agents — who are trained in law enforcement, not airport security — would actually be doing to help.

TSA agents receive months of specialized training to detect contraband that ICE agents wouldn’t have had time for in the seemingly few days it took Trump’s plan to come together.

Homan said during CNN’s “State of the Union” broadcast on Sunday that ICE duties would be more about crowd control and covering the exits than looking at X-ray machines — but he did not say they would stop conducting their regular immigration enforcement at airports.

On Monday, Trump told reporters that ICE agents at airports are “able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country. That’s very fertile territory.”

Some industry analysts say their presence — especially as people increasingly disapprove of ICE — could make things worse.

ICE is not trained in airport security

ICE and TSA are both part of DHS, but their roles are very different: ICE is armed law enforcement with arrest powers; TSA agents are unarmed screeners who interact with the public but have no police authority.

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, warned in a Sunday statement that ICE agents “cannot improvise” airport security.

“TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons, and threats specifically designed to evade detection at checkpoints — skills that require specialized instruction, hands-on practice, and ongoing recertification,” he wrote. “Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one.”

Homan provided some clarifications to CNN. He said ICE agents are “well-trained” in security and identification and are already present at some airports for certain investigations, such as smuggling.

But he said that they would not conduct screenings; instead, they would handle support roles, such as managing passenger flow, covering exits, and assisting with crowd control. TSA lines at airports in Houston and New York have stretched as long as three hours; some airports, like Atlanta, have stopped reporting wait times altogether.

“Stuff like that relieves that TSA officer to go to screening and to reduce those lines,” Homan said. “I don’t see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine because they’re not trained in that; there are certain parts of security that TSA’s doing that we can move them off those jobs and put them in the specialized jobs and help them move those lines.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday that ICE agents operate similar screening machines for people and packages at the Mexican border — suggesting they have the proper security training and could help agents in those areas — but said just managing the flow of people is helpful.

Helpful or not, their presence could still be intimidating.

Cathy Creighton, the director of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations Buffalo Co-Lab, said in a statement shared with Business Insider that ICE agents have been “acting aggressively in public situations” and may not provide the “softness” and “de-escalation” needed in the confined TSA areas.

“Additionally, the public perception of ICE is poor,” she said. “Multiple public polling has found that public support for ICE has declined markedly.”

Roughly 56% of Americans expressed little to no confidence in ICE in a poll by The Economist/YouGov conducted from February 27 to March 2.

Federal officers on Sunday detained a passenger at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in an “isolated incident” that the airport was not involved in, an airport spokesperson told Business Insider.

SFO is one of 20 airports across the US that use officers employed by private security companies instead of the TSA —meaning they are paid during the shutdown thanks to pre-funded contracts. SFO said lines have been short.

ICE agents are still being paid

ICE’s presence at airports comes as more than 400 TSA officers have left the agency since DHS funding lapsed and their pay was paused on February 14.

Frontline TSA agents average $60,000 to $75,000 a year, but often live paycheck to paycheck. The ICE agents now stationed alongside them are still being paid, as DHS has funding that continues to cover certain law enforcement roles even during the shutdown.

TSA agents will not get paid again until Congress reaches a deal to fund DHS. Republicans have blamed Democrats for the shutdown, while Democrats say they will not approve a deal without reforms to ICE, including requiring agents to show their faces and wear body cameras.

• Delays persist at TSA checkpoints across US airports due to the partial government shutdown.
• As of Monday afternoon, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport is advising travelers to show up 4 hours early.
• Here’s the latest on TSA delays, and how to check wait times before you travel.

If you’re flying in the US, get ready to stand in line.

Airports across the US are continuing to see lengthy waits at security checkpoints as scores of TSA workers call out due to missed paychecks.

A partial government shutdown has left the Department of Homeland Security and its Transportation Security Administration unfunded and their agents unpaid at the height of the spring break travel season.

As many as 10% of all TSA agents called out on several days last week, DHS updates showed, with absence rates averaging as much as 20% in some airports. A DHS spokesperson told Business Insider that some airports, such as William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, had seen absence rates as high at 40.8%.

Security lines in affected airports are spiking unpredictably from day to day, and sometimes even from hour to hour.

“The current unpredictability is being driven by unpredictable staffing levels, basically, how many TSA officers are showing up for work on any given day,” Sheldon H. Jacobson, the founder professor of engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an expert on aviation security and airport security screening, told Business Insider.

“TSA officers have historically been cross-trained to do many different tasks, so the number that show up is the key factor,” Jacobson said.

How long are the TSA delays?

Delays at TSA checkpoints across the US have been unpredictable, and some airports are changing how they’re communicating with travelers.

As of Monday afternoon, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest by passenger numbers, displayed the following message on its website: “Due to current federal conditions, passengers are advised to allow at least 4 hours or more for domestic and international screenings.”

Atlanta has been among the worst-affected airports since the shutdown began, with over a third of TSA staff not showing up on some days.

The airport said there had been congestion at the international checkpoint as domestic travelers try to bypass long lines in the domestic terminal. The airport said domestic travelers should use the domestic checkpoints.

At Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, lines stretched over three hours on Sunday evening. As of Monday afternoon, wait times ranged from 150 to 200 minutes, and the airport warned on its website that waits could exceed 4 hours.

Lines at checkpoints at JFK, the New York area’s biggest airport, are running at about 45 minutes on Monday afternoon.

JFK said it has “deployed additional customer care staff into terminals to help manage queues, assist passengers, and keep people moving as efficiently as possible.”

As of Monday, Newark Liberty International Airport displays a message on its website that says security wait times may be “significantly longer than normal.”

“Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight,” the message says.

Separate from TSA issues, LaGuardia Airport was closed early Monday after a plane collided with a vehicle. It reopened at 2 p.m. ET, though travelers should expect delays and cancellations.

Denver, home of the fourth-busiest airport in the US, is experiencing wait times of 3 minutes on Monday afternoon. Dallas-Fort Worth lines are at 18 minutes.

At Los Angeles International Airport, the nation’s fifth-busiest travel hub, waits were listed as 2 minutes.

Some airports have so far avoided the hourslong lines. Business Insider’s Taylor Rains flew out of Las Vegas last week and saw minimal TSA lines.

The maximum wait time at Philadelphia International Airport was listed as 30 minutes on Monday, although some terminals were quicker.

How to check TSA wait times

The unpredictable delays mean travelers should plan for long waits even if their airport hasn’t yet experienced problems.

The easiest way to avoid the stress of missing your flight is to give yourself extra time in the airport. Many airports are advising travelers this week to arrive up to three hours before their flight, even for domestic flights.

Many airports, including major hubs like Atlanta, Houston, JFK, Newark, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Denver, have been posting TSA wait times live on their websites.

These can also provide more specific insights. For example, DFW’s website shows the wait times at each checkpoint.

You can also use the MyTSA mobile app. It provides estimated wait times in 15-minute intervals based on average checkpoint data. The app, however, will use historical data if the live data cannot be retrieved. The TSA also says it is not “actively” managing its sites during the partial shutdown, and so the app may not always be updated.

How long will the TSA delays persist?

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said airport delays could get worse.

“As we get into next week and they’re about to miss another payment, this is going to look like child’s play, what’s happening right now,” Duffy said on CNBC.

Some airports could be forced to close, both Duffy and Adam Stahl, the TSA’s acting deputy administrator, said.

Airports like Denver and Seattle have asked the public for food, gift cards, and basic supplies to support TSA staff working without pay.

• Two pilots were killed after an Air Canada plane collided with a fire vehicle at LaGuardia Airport.
• The airport reopened at 2 p.m. ET with a single runway, which will likely slow traffic.
• About 600 flights have been canceled out of LaGuardia on Monday.

An Air Canada aircraft collided with a ground vehicle at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday, killing two pilots and forcing the airport to shut down as investigators examined the crash.

The airport was reopened with operations limited to a single runway, as of 2 p.m. Eastern on Monday.

The Air Canada Express flight, a CRJ-900 operated by Jazz Aviation — a Canadian regional carrier that runs shorthaul flights on behalf of Air Canada — struck a Port Authority rescue and firefighting vehicle on the airfield shortly after landing, authorities said.

Flight AC8646 was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members, Jazz Aviation said in a statement. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told Business Insider that 41 people were transported to the hospital, including 39 flight passengers and two officers who were in the truck; 32 of those people have been released.

The airport reopened just after 2 p.m. Eastern on Monday, though with only one runway.

That is expected to slow traffic and reduce capacity; the airport told travelers to “expect residual delays and cancellations” and to check with their airlines for the latest flight information.

About 600 flights at LaGuardia have been canceled on Monday, per the flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau said in a video on X that the airline is focused on caring for its people and guests. He told anyone who thinks they may have a loved one on the flight to call 1-800-961-7099 for assistance.

‘Stop, stop, stop’

The flight left Montreal around 10:35 p.m. E.T. and touched down at LaGuardia at 11:37 p.m., per data from Flightradar24.

A New York City Fire Department spokesperson told Business Insider the department responded to a call at 11:38 p.m. about an incident involving a plane and a vehicle on the runway.

The airport was officially closed at 3:16 a.m ET, per an FAA alert.

New York Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia told reporters early Monday morning that two pilots on the aircraft were confirmed dead.

Garcia said the fire truck involved in the collision was responding to a separate United Airlines aircraft that had reported an odor issue. The two officers in the truck who were taken to the hospital are in stable condition with no life-threatening injuries.

An air traffic control recording from LiveATC.net captured the moments before the collision. In the recording, a controller can be heard clearing the truck to cross Runway 4.

Shortly after, they are heard urgently instructing the vehicle to stop and telling a separate plane to abort its landing and go around.

“Stop, stop, stop, stop truck 1,” the controller can be heard saying. “Stop, stop, stop!” The controller then says there was an incident on the airfield and that the runway is closed.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident, and federal investigators are on-site, Garcia said.

The NYPD said roads and highway exits into the airport are closed until further notice.

Jazz Aviation said it is cooperating with authorities investigating the crash. Air Canada has set up a helpline for friends and family of passengers on the flight.

Mass disruption at LaGuardia

LaGuardia served over 30 million passengers in 2025, per the Port Authority.

Along with Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and New York-JFK, LaGuardia is one of the three major commercial airports serving New York.

LaGuardia said in an X post earlier on Sunday that weather conditions had caused flight disruptions and advised passengers to check the status of their flights with their airlines.

Operations at Newark Airport were also temporarily halted on Monday due to a control tower evacuation, meaning air travel was heavily affected at two of the major New York City-area travel hubs. Operations at Newark have since resumed.

In an update at 9:45 a.m. ET, Delta Air Lines, which has its own terminal at LaGuardia, said it suspended all flights from the airport. The airline said it would allow customers with affected flights to rebook on the next best itinerary.

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said in a post on X that the union’s “hearts are with the crew, passengers, and their families” and that its employee assistance program is available to support those affected.

Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the crash should prompt “far greater scrutiny” of air traffic control staffing, pointing to a long-standing shortage of controllers.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on X on Monday morning that the city is in close contact with federal, state, and local authorities as the NTSB investigates the collision. He praised first responders “whose swift actions saved lives.”

• Trump said he will send ICE agents to replace TSA at US airports on Monday.
• The largest federal workers union said ICE agents aren’t trained for aviation security.
• More than 400 TSA officers have quit since mid-February amid the partial government shutdown.

America’s largest federal employee union says ICE agents are unqualified to replace TSA officers at US airports.

“ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security. TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons, and threats specifically designed to evade detection at checkpoints — skills that require specialized instruction, hands-on practice, and ongoing recertification,” Everett Kelley, president of American Federation of Government Employees, said on Sunday in a statement posted online.

“You cannot improvise that. Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one,” he added.

The statement came one day after President Donald Trump said he would tap ICE agents to help with airport security as the partial government shutdown drags on.

“Likewise, I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to,”GET READY.” NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

White House Border Czar Tom Homan said Sunday that the administration was actively working on a plan to integrate ICE agents into airports.

“We’ll have a plan by the end of today on what airports we’re starting with and where we’re sending them,” Homan said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The partial government shutdown has left the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA, unfunded as Congress debates its immigration enforcement policies.

TSA officers haven’t received a paycheck in five weeks, and more than 400 have quit since mid-February, according to The White House, compounding a staffing shortage. As a result, long wait times and massive lines are clogging airport security checkpoints.

On Sunday, Kelley said that many TSA agents have continued to show up to work despite the lack of pay. “They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be,” he said.

ICE has been at the center of Trump’s immigration crackdown. Fatal shootings sparked widespread protests against the agency earlier this year and contributed to the removal of former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Kelley called on Congress to “stop playing politics and do their jobs.”

During an interview on Sunday, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said TSA officers, whose salaries start around $40,000 annually, can’t live on $0 paychecks.

“They’re going to take other jobs to put food on the table and pay the rent,” Duffy said on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” “I do think it’s going to get much worse, and as it gets worse, I think that puts pressure on Congress to come to a resolution.”

Disruptions to air travel were what ultimately pushed Congress to end the previous full government shutdown.

• Many TSA agents are working without pay during the partial government shutdown.
• Many others have stopped showing up for work. Over 400 have quit since mid-February.
• The result is long lines at airports. One traveler called their experience at JFK Airport a “complete disaster.”

One thing became clear to Jason Urasner as he waited over 90 minutes at a TSA checkpoint on Sunday: He was going to miss his flight.

“It is actual chaos,” Urasner, 40, told Business Insider. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Urasner had arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City that morning to board a JetBlue flight to Salt Lake City, but his plans were derailed by what he called a “complete disaster.”

“There is nobody directing anyone or managing the line. There are a few port authority officers standing around letting people in one by one to the main TSA line, but the line is coming from all directions,” Uranser said. “Most of the people who have actually been waiting in line aren’t even going anywhere.”

Airport workers at JFK’s Terminal 4 used baggage carts to ferry stanchions from one end of the building to the other as they redsigned lines to create more room for passengers to wait. Travelers watched as a digital clock estimating wait times continuously ticked up.

Some passengers used the time to sign up for CLEAR, a paid membership that costs more than $200 a year. It verifies travelers’ identities and allows them to bypass the standard TSA document check.

The potential for long waits and daunting lines is a new reality for travelers at US airports as the partial government shutdown drags on. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA, remains unfunded as lawmakers debate immigration enforcement policy. That has left TSA officers unpaid for 5 weeks now. More than 400 TSA officers have quit since mid-February, according to The White House, compounding the ongoing staffing shortage and leading to disruptions at major airports.

On Sunday, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said TSA officers can’t make ends meet on $0 paychecks. Their salaries start around $40,000 annually.

“They’re going to take other jobs to put food on the table and pay the rent,” Duffy said on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” “I do think it’s going to get much worse, and as it gets worse, I think that puts pressure on Congress to come to a resolution.”

It is not uncommon for travel chaos to motivate lawmakers to find a compromise to fund the government. During the last full government shutdown, an air traffic controller shortage ultimately forced an end to the impasse.

Urasner said he rebooked his flight for a Monday and was advised to arrive at 4 a.m., when TSA opens. Other travelers are facing similar challenges.

Lily Katzman, a senior editor on Business Insider’s Special Projects team, was stuck in a line at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport early Sunday morning.

She joined the line at 6:45 a.m., more than five hours before her flight to Los Angeles.

“When I arrived at the airport, staff ushered everyone to the garage parking lot, where we joined a line that had already snaked twice around the entire first level of the lot. At this point, there was no TSA Pre-Check, and CLEAR was not allowing in-person registrations,” she said.

Katzman said she stood in line for about 90 minutes before being directed to another line.

“After we entered the airport, we learned that we still had to head up an escalator and enter another snaked line to security. We were told once you get inside, it’s up to another two hours on top of the time in the garage.”

New Orleans International on Sunday advised travelers to arrive at least three hours before their flight.

Amid the mounting disruption, President Donald Trump on Saturday said he will send ICE agents to replace TSA officers at airports nationwide. White House Border Czar Tom Homan confirmed the plan on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

“We’ll have a plan by the end of today what airports we’re starting with and where we’re sending them,” Homan said.

The president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which includes TSA officers, criticized the decision in a statement on Sunday.

“Our members at TSA have been showing up every day, without a paycheck, because they believe in the mission of keeping the flying public safe,” Everett Kelley said. “They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.”

• I’ve taken eight workcations with my toddler over the past few years.
• Most trips left me juggling work, parenting, and nonstop logistics.
• A structured, paid kids’ club finally made the balance possible.

I’ve been taking working vacations for over a decade, long before the pandemic made them commonplace.

While the downside of working for myself is not getting any PTO days, the upside is being able to work remotely with flexible hours. Working from paradise, with a palapa shading my laptop from the sun’s glare, is one of my favorite things about being self-employed.

I realized that it would be more challenging once I became a single mom, but juggling work and a baby away from home turned out to be much harder than I realized.

I kept thinking it’d get easier

The first time I tried to take a working vacation with my daughter, she was 8 months old. I booked a flight to Hawaii, packed my laptop, and planned to work during her two naps and after she went to sleep for the night. I spent most of the week in Maui learning lessons the hard way — disconnecting the hotel room phone after a call interrupted her nap, dragging her from store to store trying to find baby medicine when she caught a cold, and departing exhausted after staying up most of each night working.

Over the next few years, I kept trying, thinking with each hard lesson learned that the next time would be easier. Now that my daughter, Via, is 3.5, I’ve attempted eight different workcations. Each time I start out hopeful that I’ve found the solution. But I’ve always ended up with three jobs on what is supposed to be a vacation: working, parenting, and solving logistics problems.

I tried kids’ clubs

Resort kids’ clubs were supposed to be the answer. I needed a predictable block of time each day where my daughter was otherwise entertained so I could focus on work. I booked hotels (and even a cruise) that advertised them prominently, flaunting photos of smiling children that made me feel less guilty for leaving my daughter on vacation.

As it turned out, those programs had their own challenges. Via wasn’t just nervous at the beginning; each day, she didn’t want to stay at the kids’ club and fought going back. At one resort, the website promised a nap room at the kids’ club, which was essential because Via still needed one midday. When we arrived, I was told the nap space was out of order. That meant I had to pick her up after just a couple of hours, put her down in our room myself, and then try to quickly finish work while she slept. On two separate trips, the kids’ club’s actual operating hours didn’t match what was posted online.

I paid $95 a day for our recent trip kids’ club

On our most recent trip, I didn’t expect much different, except I booked the six-day vacation at Club Med Cancún over a holiday weekend, strategically planning around a slower work period. It was the first time I’d booked a resort with a paid kids’ club instead of one where it was included. While the program for ages 4 and up had no additional charge, Petit Club Med, the option for 2 and 3-year-olds, costs $95 per day. So, I figured we’d try it out for just the one full workday we were on the property. At first, I was a little apprehensive about paying for a kids’ club after our past lackluster experiences, but it ended up being more than worth it.

The complimentary kids’ clubs I’d used before felt like drop-in playrooms, yet the Petit Club Med program was structured more like day care. They even included rest time in the schedule with a dedicated nap room. The difference completely changed the dynamic with my daughter.

At first, as usual at drop off, Via clung to my leg. I worried about her enough during the morning that I went to sneak a look at how she was doing. I was relieved to see her smiling and skipping to lunch with the rest of the kids. When I picked her up at 5 p.m., I really noticed the difference. Instead of waiting for me anxiously, she was engrossed in an activity and, when she noticed me, started talking excitedly about what she’d done that day. She loved it so much that she asked to go back the next day. I stood, stunned, taking in that moment with equal parts shock and relief.

I figured she would change her mind by the next day, but the following morning, she was still clamoring to go back. I wasn’t sure if I should take her; I had planned to spend the rest of the vacation together. But I was so happy that she loved going, I decided to bring her back. For the first time on a workcation, I found myself caught up on work and got to explore. I took a trapeze class, something that had caught my eye on the Club Med website before the trip, and borrowed a snorkel for a leisurely swim in the ocean.

When I picked up Via, she was once again glowing and happy from her day of adventures, and, for once, I was as well. For the remainder of our trip, we spent time together, and I felt like I could show up as the relaxed, carefree mom I’d always want to be on vacation.

Looking back at my past attempts, I don’t think I was overambitious to believe that a workcation could be enjoyable for both my daughter and me. I just had a lot to learn about how to prepare, structure the trip, and what to expect from kids’ clubs.