Long lines at TSA security checkpoints have caused stress at airports in March due to the partial government shutdown.<\/p>\n
Last week President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0announced that hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be deployed to airports today (March 23) to assist with understaffed TSA employees. The president said White House border czar\u00a0Tom Homan<\/a>\u00a0will be in charge of the operation.<\/p>\n One of those airports is Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers, the only Florida airport on the list.<\/p>\n Live coverage at airports: ICE agents deployed at US airports amid partial shutdown. Live updates<\/a><\/p>\n What airports are ICE agents being sent to in U.S.?<\/p>\n ICE agents are present at TSA checkpoints at RSW<\/a> and 13 other U.S. airports, CNN reported<\/a>. USA TODAY, the parent company of Naples Daily News and The News-Press, has reached out to ICE and TSA for comment. The other 12 airports reportedly include:<\/p>\n Chicago-O’Hare International Airport<\/p>\n Cleveland Hopkins International Airport<\/p>\n Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport<\/p>\n Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport<\/p>\n John F. Kennedy International Airport<\/p>\n Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport<\/p>\n Luis Munoz Marin International Airport<\/p>\n Newark Liberty International Airport<\/p>\n Philadelphia International Airport<\/p>\n Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport<\/p>\n Pittsburgh International Airport<\/p>\n Absences among Transportation Security Administration workers reached their highest over the weekend since the partial shutdown\u00a0began five weeks ago<\/a>, according to DHS. The agency said more than a third of TSA staff at airports in Houston, New York City, and Atlanta were absent or called in sick.<\/p>\n Scans of social media sites and posts last week indicated that TSA lines at RSW were not unusually long <\/a>or stressful, despite what’s happening at other airports with lengthy \u2212 as many as three hours \u2212 waits to get through checkpoints.<\/p>\n More: How long are TSA wait times at major Florida airports? MCO, RSW, FLL<\/a><\/p>\n ICE agents at RSW: March is a busy time at Fort Myers airport<\/p>\n March is the busiest month of the year at RSW. Spring break vacationers come here for beach time and baseball fans come to Fort Myers, the spring training home of the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox, to watch games in the warm sun. And there’s also Easter, which is coming in less than two weeks and brings in more passenger traffic.<\/p>\n In March 2025, more than one million passengers traveled to and from the terminal at RSW.<\/p>\n RSW is also undergoing a massive expansion project<\/a>, with a new concourse under construction and a significant makeover to the main terminal. Earlier this month RSW posted on its Facebook page that short-term parking lots were full or near-full.<\/p>\n This is a developing story. The New-Press and Naples Daily News is sending a reporter and photographer to RSW for expanded coverage.<\/p>\n Please support local community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to\u00a0The News-Press<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Naples Daily News<\/a>; download the free\u00a0News-Press<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Naples Daily News app<\/a>, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n