Sunday marks the start of the sixth week that TSA agents have gone without pay due to a partial government shutdown that is impacting the Department of Homeland Security.
The pause in pay has caused staffing shortages and hours long lines for passengers across the country, including at PHL.
According to NBC News, 21.5% of TSA workers scheduled to work at PHL on Saturday, March 21, called out as they struggle to keep up with their bills.
TSA wait times at PHL can be found here on by using the MyTSA app.
Now, President Donald Trump said he will b sending ICE agents to airports as soon as Monday to help ease long lines. But many travelers say the best solution is to pay the TSA agents.
“That’s bad, you know? I wouldn’t want to work with out pay,” one traveler said.
On Sunday, NBC10 was at the airport to see how things were going. Three security checkpoints remained closed as a result of the shutdown, but lines were mostly smooth sailing, with only long lines at peak travel hours.
The Trump administration has not said yet which airports will receive ICE agents first, but the president said in a social media post to “get ready.”
NBC10 reached out to PHL to learn more about what things could look like on Monday. They referred us to the TSA and DHS, who provided us with this statement:
“Because of the Democrat shutdown, President Trump is using every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hours long lines at airports across the country—especially during this spring break and holiday season that is very important for many American families. This pointless, reckless shutdown of our homeland security workforce has caused more than 400 TSA officers to quit and thousands to call out from work because they are not able to afford gas, childcare, food, or rent. While the Democrats continue to put the safety, dependability, and ease of our air travel at risk, President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted. This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions.”
However, travelers at PHL on Sunday shared with NBC10 mixed reactions:
“Not sound like the right set of people to handle people traveling.”
“Bad plan.”
“I guess we will see how it plays out. Skeptical maybe a little bit. But if it helps, that’s great. We’ll see.”
“If it helps, that’s okay, yea.”
“If they are coming in to do a good job, not to harass people, and cause apprehension and problems, I see no problem.”
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill gave her opinion as well, saying in a statement, “”Every time Donald Trump gets involved, he creates chaos for the American people. This latest proposal is no different. Trump’s ICE has a track record of making communities less safe, and sending untrained ICE agents to staff our airports is not an acceptable solution. Instead, it’s time for Donald Trump and Washington Republicans to do their jobs and fund TSA.”