Atlanta airport security chaos worsens amid TSA staffing strain
Security lines at Atlanta airport spilled into baggage claim as TSA staffing shortages worsen during the partial government shutdown.
President Donald Trump said March 21 that he will order Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to do security at U.S. airports unless Congress strikes an agreement for funding TSA airport security officers “immediately.”
Trump said in a social media post that he would have the ICE agents not only providing security at airports, but also arresting people who have entered the U.S. without authorization.
“I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our Airports. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the president posted.
In the past month, about 50,000 TSA airport security employees have been forced to work without pay, as a result of a partial government shutdown.
The shutdown began after Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes both TSA and ICE workers, until DHS changed its immigration enforcement policies. Republicans have rejected offers from Democrats to pass funding only for the non-immigration enforcement parts of DHS, including TSA.
As the funding lapse drags on, many employees aren’t showing up to work. The Trump administration said 10% of TSA workers didn’t come to work on Sunday, March 15 – compared to a standard no-show rate of under 2% during normal operations.
Contributing: Reuters