By Tom Gantert
White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday that ICE agents will be used to help out at airports as long as necessary and added that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents should receive a paycheck by Monday or Tuesday.
Homan said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would help with security until airports feel they are back at 100 percent.
“We’ll be there as long as they need us, until they get back to normal operations and feel like those airports are secure,” Homan said in a CBS interview.
He confirmed an earlier statement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that TSA agents would be paid, possibly as soon as Monday.
“It’s good news because these TSA officers are struggling, they can’t feed their families or pay their rent,” Homan told CNN. “We’re talking about the Department of Homeland Security in a time we have a heightened threat posture in this country because of what is going on in the world. This should be the last thing they are fighting over funding for.”
The partial shutdown of DHS began Feb. 14, which is when funding stopped.
The White House rapid response account on X said on March 18 that some small airports could close due to the shutdown. The White House said that more than 30 percent of the TSA workers in New Orleans, Atlanta, Houston, and New York had called in sick.
Media reports have shown long lines at airports across the country. CNN reported mid-afternoon on March 29 that there were three airports with wait times of 40 minutes or longer, but none longer than 47 minutes.
DHS said on March 27 on X that TSA agents would get paid as early as Monday.
“TSA officers are now losing their homes and cars, struggling to put food on the table, and are experiencing all-around financial catastrophe because of this extended shutdown,” DHS said in a post on X. “Travelers are facing record breaking wait times stretching hours and hours long causing missed flights, unnecessary delays, and booking headaches.”
Congress failed to pass a new funding bill for DHS because Republicans and Democrats disagreed over limits on ICE funding and operations.
Each major political party is blaming the other for the shutdown.
“This crisis is a direct result of chaos unleashed on the American people by Democrats in Congress,” DHS stated.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans are tying DHS funding to immigration enforcement demands.
“Today, for the TENTH TIME, Democrats will go to the floor to demand that we pay TSA immediately. And for the TENTH TIME, Republicans will have a chance to join us. I’m not holding my breath,” Schumer said in a March 25 post on X.
On March 20, the White House rapid response account on X posted that a food bank had been set up at Pittsburgh International Airport for TSA officers who hadn’t been paid in weeks.
TSA annual base salaries range from $74,547 to $92,683, according to government website USAJobs.gov.
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