Travel Turmoil: Who’s to Blame for TSA Chaos as ICE Agents Flood Airports?

In the midst of the ongoing partial government shutdown, a narrow majority of American voters are attributing responsibility to Donald Trump and the Republican Party. This shutdown has led to significant disruptions at airports, with lengthy security lines posing an inconvenience for travelers, and has compelled immigration officials to take on additional security duties.

The shutdown, which began on February 14, specifically impacts the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It commenced after Congressional Democrats rejected a funding proposal put forth by Republicans, citing concerns over President Trump’s extensive immigration policies.

The DHS plays a critical role in overseeing several key agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), among others.

As this partial shutdown continues, DHS employees, with the exception of those in ICE, remain without pay. This financial strain has led to over 400 TSA agents resigning, exacerbating the situation at airports where passengers face prolonged security checks.

With approximately 50,000 TSA workers enduring unpaid labor since mid-February, public frustration mounts. Many voters are holding the Republican Party accountable for the funding stalemate and the resulting delays and challenges at U.S. airports.

The latest Daily Mail/JL Partner poll of over 1,000 US voters, taken from March 18 to 20, found that one-third of respondents – 34 percent – blame the GOP for the long lines and delays at airports. 

Just 25 percent of the voters said Democrats are to blame, while 11 percent said neither, 20 percent said both and 10 percent said they were unsure. The margin of error for the latest survey was three percent.  

The poll showed similar results for the ongoing DHS shutdown, with 34 percent blaming Republicans and just 25 percent blaming Democrats. 

The latest Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found that one-third of respondents blame Republicans for the long wait times and delays at US airports prompted by the DHS funding debacle

The line at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning stretched out the door. Travelers were advised to arrive four hours early for their flights

President Trump has ordered ICE agents to help TSA at airports across the country as the partial shutdown drags on

A quarter of respondents, 26 percent, said both parties were to blame, while 4 percent said neither and 11 percent responded they were unsure. 

Over a third of voters said that the shutdown makes them feel less safe. 

The President has repeatedly blamed Democrats for the long lines and travel woes faced by millions of Americans since the shutdown began last month. 

Trump believes the American people are on his side, despite his own approval rating hitting an all-time low of 42 percent, per the latest Daily Mail/JL Partner survey. 

That is down from the 44 percent approval he received on March 3, just days into the Iran conflict. Trump held a 48 percent approval rating as recently as late January.

But the President believes that Democrats will bear the brunt of the blame for the airport woes. 

‘The Democrats are being blamed by the American people for the catastrophe going on right now in our airports, and at other points of transportation and beyond,’ President Trump said at an event in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday. 

‘And we want the public to know we’re not going to let them out of this trap that they created for themselves,’ he added.

ICE agents patrol New York’s LaGuardia Airport on March 23

Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan said that he expects ICE will not be deployed to US airports for very long

Some airports have had security wait times lasting nearly three hours 

Democrats have faced backlash from the shutdown gambit and have since asked Republicans to put forth a bill to solely fund TSA, saying that funding for ICE and other immigration agencies should be hashed out separately. 

Trump ratcheted up the pressure on Democrats over the weekend by announcing that ICE agents would be deployed to airports to assist TSA. 

ICE agents were pictured at major airports across the country on Monday, the first day of their airport deployment. 

In total, the agents will assist with at least 13 airports, a source familiar with the plan told CNN. 

‘We’re going to first send out to the biggest airports with the biggest wait lines,’ Border Czar Tom Homan said of the ICE airport deployments Monday on SiriusXM’s Cuomo Mornings. 

ICE will help TSA officers with screening, Homan shared, adding that the agents’ deployment won’t ‘last very long.’ 

The Border Czar added that he anticipates protesters to target ICE agents while they work alongside TSA. 

‘You know in the bigger cities where there’s been issues in the past, I expect there’s going to be protests outside the airport,’ he said.