ICE Agents Deployed at IAH, Hobby as TSA Wait Times Hit 220 Minutes

Security lines at George Bush Intercontinental Airport snaked up three floors during the worst stretches of last weekend, starting in the basement's subway corridor before passing through baggage claim, as the partial federal government shutdown reached its sixth week with no resolution in sight. At some points on Sunday, the TSA line wait time reached 220 minutes at IAH. By Monday morning it was worse: airport officials said TSA wait times could exceed four hours at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Houston Airports issued a statement confirming the situation: "Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are supporting TSA operations at U.S. airports, including IAH and HOU, as part of the federal response to the ongoing government shutdown, which began Feb. 14 and continues to impact TSA staffing as officers work without pay."

William P. Hobby Airport saw 40.3% of workers calling out, similar to George Bush Intercontinental, which recorded 36.1% of agency workers calling out. The twin callout crises left IAH critically short-staffed: at about 7 a.m. Monday, only three of eight standard and PreCheck checkpoints were open at IAH, and by 9:15 a.m., TSA would no longer accept additional passengers at the Terminal C checkpoint. The Houston Airport System posted an advisory estimating that it could take more than four hours to get through security at George Bush Intercontinental.

Both of Houston's airports ranked among the worst for staff callouts over the weekend, according to data obtained by CBS. The contrast between the two facilities was sharp: while IAH buckled, security checkpoint wait times at Hobby Airport were under 15 minutes on Monday morning.

The human cost at IAH was immediate. Traveler Jacoby Bradley arrived early and found it made no difference. "We arrived around 8 a.m., and we've been here for about eight hours, nine hours now," Bradley told KPRC. Abraham Omar, after standing in line for hours, described simply: "Longest line I've ever done in my life." NPR passenger Alanna Buffi, rushing to catch a flight home to Rhode Island, offered a two-word assessment of the situation: "It's very frustrating. It's exhausting." On Monday, travelers at Bush faced yet another day of extremely long lines, with wait times stretching for hours, causing many to miss their flights and others to rebook while stuck in line.

The disruption reached beyond leisure travelers. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy disclosed at a news conference that one of her agency's air traffic control specialists was stranded in the IAH security line while the NTSB team tried to reach New York's LaGuardia Airport to investigate a deadly collision between an Air Canada jet and a Port Authority fire truck. "Our air traffic control specialist, who was in line with TSA for three hours until we called in Houston to beg to see if we can get her through so we can get here," Homendy said. "So, it's been a really big challenge to get the entire team here, and they're still arriving as I speak."

Travelers passing through at least 14 airports noticed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who were sent to help manage crowds as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown entered another week and its impact on the TSA workforce grew. Federal officials were explicit about the limits of the deployment. While ICE agents were spotted in Atlanta, New York, Houston, Chicago and other cities, officials said they are limited in what duties they can perform: they are not trained to operate the understaffed security checkpoints that are often the source of delays.

Former TSA Administrator John Pistole said the mass callouts exacerbate a security threat, warning of "soft targets that somebody is trying to exploit because they see it as a vulnerability now." While ICE agents lack qualification as TSA screeners, Pistole said they can help with crowd control and queue management and serve as a visible deterrent to potential threats. TSA Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl said ICE personnel would be focused on "nonspecialized security support" tasks such as "manning the exit lanes, crowd management [and] line control."

Houston airport officials noted in a statement that their security screening procedures would not change. Even if the partial government shutdown ends, it may take days, if not weeks, for TSA to return to full staffing levels, union officials said. Houston Airport System director of aviation Jim Szczesniak put it plainly: "We see the families arriving early and waiting for hours. We see missed flights. We see missed moments, weddings, vacations, time with loved ones," and added: "We worry conditions will only get worse at airports across the US until Congress ends this shutdown.