{"id":195598,"date":"2026-03-17T23:21:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T23:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/195598\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T23:21:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T23:21:07","slug":"shutdown-strains-tsa-workers-south-florida-travelers-amid-spring-break-rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/195598\/","title":{"rendered":"Shutdown strains TSA workers, South Florida travelers amid spring break rush"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI \u2014 Frustration is growing at South Florida airports as TSA agents miss paychecks during a partial government shutdown, while long lines and delays continue<\/a> during the busy spring break travel season.<\/p>\n

At Miami International Airport, Feeding South Florida<\/a> has launched a weekly food distribution site<\/a> to help impacted federal employees and their families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see ourselves doing this at least weekly,\u201d said Paco V\u00e9lez of Feeding South Florida.<\/p>\n

V\u00e9lez said the effort comes as many workers struggle financially.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now with the fuel prices going up, as well as paychecks not going out, a lot of families are really struggling and we hope that it ends pretty soon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added the goal is to ensure TSA agents, who continue working without pay, don\u2019t go without meals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is with all the news going on in the world and in this country. It\u2019s really easy for folks to forget about the DHS shutdown and the TSA agents who are not only protecting our airlines but also missing meals,\u201d V\u00e9lez said. \u201cSo for us to be here, it\u2019s really important to make sure that folks have something to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read an open letter to Congress from US airline CEO\u2019s by clicking here.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, long screening lines are testing travelers\u2019 patience at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, reminiscent of disruptions seen during past shutdowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent hours and hours in line,\u201d one traveler said.<\/p>\n

Still, many passengers expressed sympathy for TSA workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, they should absolutely be paid. This is ridiculous,\u201d said Lynn LeBlanc, who spoke to Local 10 from Miami International Airport. \u201cWhy don\u2019t we have a system in place to pay them while Congress gets their stuff together? I mean, you don\u2019t want your paycheck taken away? Your reserves only last for so long, if you have any, right?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like everybody should get their paychecks. They deserve their money,\u201d said Miguel Espinal, an air traveler who said he has been stuck in Miami for days after multiple canceled flights.<\/p>\n

\u201cAirports are crazy, all getting stuck from spring break. I\u2019ve been stuck here in Miami for three days,\u201d Espinal added.<\/p>\n

Another traveler at Fort Lauderdale said, \u201cGiven what the TSA employees have to go through right now, it is hard to get too bitter about all of these things because I know that they are in a really tough spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Airline CEOs are also weighing in, urging Congress to act. <\/p>\n

In an open letter, several U.S. airline leaders described air travel as a \u201cpolitical football\u201d and called on lawmakers to \u201cmove forward with bipartisan proposals,\u201d warning that with spring break underway and the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching, \u201cstakes are especially high.\u201d<\/p>\n

V\u00e9lez said despite the challenges, TSA agents continue to show up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of them are still showing up to work knowing they\u2019re not going to get paid, but trying to make sure that they\u2019re keeping our airlines safe,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we ask that we treat everybody with kindness and recognize that we\u2019re all neighbors here.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said attrition among Transportation Security Officers has increased, with 366 officers leaving the workforce. <\/p>\n

The statement also includes nonpartisan remarks from what is historically a nonpartisan agency.<\/a> <\/p>\n

The agency did not provide a timeframe for that number or specify why those employees left.<\/p>\n

During last year\u2019s government shutdown, critics accused the Trump administration of using federal agencies for propaganda purposes. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis looks like a naked violation of the Hatch Act,\u201d said Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland last year<\/a>, \u201cwhich forbids partisan activity in the federal workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 Frustration is growing at South Florida airports as TSA agents miss paychecks during a partial government…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195599,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-195598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}