Posted originally on CTH on March 21, 2026 | Sundance

Democrats have refused to fund the Dept of Homeland Security which means the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials are working at reduced capacity.  This is slowing down security times at airports and creating massive delays for U.S. air travelers.  The problem has been worsening day-by-day for well over a week.

President Trump announced today that if Democrats don’t fund DHS/TSA, he will move Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers into TSA positions with the benefit of creating an illegal alien catch net.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia, who have totally destroyed, with the approval of a corrupt Governor, Attorney General, and Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, the once Great State of Minnesota. I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our Airports. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”  ~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

President Trump then followed up his Truth Social announcement with another emphatic statement emphasizing it.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “The Radical Left Democrats have hurt so many people with their vicious and uncaring ways. What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace. If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before! The Fascist Democrats will never protect America, but the Republicans will. Just like the Radical Left allowed millions of Criminals to pour into our Country through their ridiculous and dangerous Open Border Policy, the Republicans closed it all down, and we now have the Strongest Border in American History. Likewise, I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, “GET READY.” NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!” ~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

Many TSA agents continue to show up to work; however, many TSA agents are refusing to come to work without pay. The current airport delays are most significant at urban metropolitan airports.

The airports with the largest percentage of ‘DEI qualified’ TSA agents are the airports with the biggest delays.

(Business Insider) – […] Atlanta has been among the worst-affected airports since the shutdown began, with delays of over 90 minutes on most days this week, and over a third of TSA staff not showing up on some days.

Lines at checkpoints at JFK, the New York area’s biggest airport, ranged between 17 and 30 minutes on Saturday 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.”

At Newark Liberty International Airport, passengers waited in lines for up to 44 minutes. LaGuardia had the lowest wait times among the major tri-state airports, ranging from “no wait” to four minutes.

Denver, home of the 4th-busiest airport in the US, also had short lines of five minutes or less. (read more)