Ice makers watch as travelers wait in long lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Megan Berner | Getty Images
NEW YORK — Andrew Leonard showed up at John F. Kennedy International Airport at 4:45 a.m. to catch a 7 a.m. Monday flight to Seattle. Almost two hours later, he cleared security and arrived at the gate just in time to board.
“I fly out of this terminal all the time, and this is insane,” said Leonard, 34, a performing arts teacher from New York who was on his way to Seattle before a family trip to Hawaii.
He is one of tens of thousands of travelers across the United States facing unusually long security wait times at major airport hubs such as Atlanta, New York and Houston due to the increased absence of Transportation Security Administration personnel. TSA employees face missing out on full pay for the second time this week as the government remains partially shut down.
The Trump administration sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to multiple U.S. airports on Monday.
White House Border Security Director Tom Homan announced Sunday that the administration would send ICE agents to airports on Monday to ease security amid the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
In an emailed statement to CNBC, DHS blamed Democrats for the government shutdown and travel issues.
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer watches a line of passengers pass through security at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on March 22, 2026.
Charlie Tribalew | AFP | Getty Images
“This senseless and reckless shutdown of the Homeland Security workforce has resulted in more than 400 TSA employees retiring and thousands taking time off from work because they can’t pay for gas, child care, food, or rent,” the department said.
DHS and TSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment about how many ICE officers would be deployed, where they would be located, and what their duties would be.
Homan told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he will “help TSA move forward on these lines,” including guarding exit doors to reassure TSA agents so ICE agents can screen travelers. “We are simply there to assist with work in areas that do not require TSA expertise.”
More than 50,000 TSA employees have been working without regular paychecks since the partial government shutdown began in mid-February. The closure comes after Congressional Democrats called for changes to how federal immigration enforcement operates in exchange for a waiver of DHS funding after two Americans were killed by police in Minneapolis.
Hundreds of TSA employees have quit since the shutdown began, according to the agency’s union, the American Federation of Government Employees.
Security lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday, March 23, 2026.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Travel industry insiders, including airline executives, have accused lawmakers of failing to pay essential government workers amid repeated shutdowns that have disrupted the travel industry.
Two federal government shutdowns, one in early 2019 and one in late 2025, ended shortly after a higher-than-usual absence of air traffic controllers led to widespread travel disruption. Their salaries are not affected by this impasse.
New York’s LaGuardia Airport was closed Monday morning after an Air Canada regional jet collided with an emergency vehicle Sunday night. Some passengers told CNBC they switched to a flight from Kennedy because of the confusion.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a brief ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Monday morning after air traffic controllers were evacuated from the tower after a burning smell came from the elevators, furthering travel disruption around New York City.
—CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed to this article.
