Chaos escalates at the airport as TSA officers face their second paycheck

NEW YORK — Andrew Leonard arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport at 4:45 a.m. Monday for his 7 a.m. flight to Seattle. After nearly two hours, he made it through security to his gate in time to board the plane.

“I fly out of this stop all the time and it’s crazy,” said Leonard, a 34-year-old performing arts teacher in New York who was on his way to Seattle before a family vacation in Hawaii.

He is one of tens of thousands of travelers across the United States facing extremely long security wait times at major airport hubs such as Atlanta, New York and Houston due to the increasing absence of TSA officers. TSA employees face full lost pay for the second time this week as the partial government shutdown continues.

The administration will deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports on Monday to help thin security lines amid the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, White House border coordinator Tom Homan said Sunday.

ICE agents were not visible at checkpoints at Kennedy Airport’s Terminal 8 early Monday, and it was not clear where or when the agents would be deployed. DHS and TSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Monday.

ICE agents “will help TSA move these lines,” Homan told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, including by guarding exit doors to relieve TSA agents so they can screen travelers. “We are simply there to help TSA do its work in areas that do not need its specialized expertise.”

More than 50,000 TSA officers have been working without their regular paychecks since the partial government shutdown began in mid-February. The closure comes as Democrats demand changes to how federal immigration enforcement operates in exchange for releasing funding for the Department of Homeland Security after two American citizens were shot dead by officers in Minneapolis.

Hundreds of TSA officers have resigned since the shutdown began, according to their union, the American Federation of Government Employees.

The travel industry, including airline executives, has criticized lawmakers for failing to pay essential government employees during recurring lockdowns that have crippled travel.

In early 2019 and late 2025, two federal government shutdowns ended shortly after travel disruptions escalated following a larger-than-usual absence of air traffic controllers. Their salaries are not affected by this impasse.

New York’s LaGuardia Airport was closed Monday morning after an Air Canada regional plane and an emergency vehicle collided Sunday evening. Some passengers told CNBC they were diverted to fly from Kennedy due to the turmoil.

— CNBC Garrett Downs Contribute to this article.