March 24, 2026

• Airport woes: Travelers are facing agonizing wait times due to growing callouts from Transportation Security Administration officers who haven’t been paid since mid-February. In Houston, travelers have been warned they could be waiting for more than four hours, and Atlanta has stopped posting wait times altogether because its computer system is not designed for lines this long.

• ICE deployed: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were sent to 14 airports yesterday, including some of those hit hardest by TSA staffing shortages. The White House’s border czar said that number could expand.

• Elusive funding fix: Top Republican lawmakers have indicated their party is unified behind a plan to reopen the Department of Homeland Security and begin paying TSA officers again after a White House meeting last night. Key Democrats said they were pleased with the direction, even without knowing all of the details.

 

Travelers are enduring long airport wait times due to unpaid Transportation Security Administration officers calling out since mid-February, with Houston warning waits over four hours and Atlanta halting wait time postings as their systems cannot handle the backlog. To address staffing shortages, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were deployed to 14 airports, with plans to increase this number. Meanwhile, bipartisan talks suggest progress toward reopening the Department of Homeland Security and restoring TSA pay, offering hope for relief despite some details remaining unclear. As delays drag on, passengers are advised to conserve device battery life by dimming screens, using Wi-Fi, and turning off unused apps, location services, and Bluetooth.

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