By David Shepardson
March 24 (Reuters) – More than 450 Transportation Security Administration officers have quit since the start of a partial government shutdown on February 14, leading to massive delays at U.S. airports, the Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday.
About 50,000 TSA officers are going without pay and are set to miss a second full paycheck on Friday.
Hundreds of U.S. immigration agents and Homeland Security Investigations officers began deploying at 14 U.S. airports on Monday to aid security screening, including at some airports where wait times have topped three or four hours. DHS said on Monday nearly 11% of TSA officers nationally – or more than 3,200 – did not show up for work.
ICE and other law enforcement personnel at DHS are getting paid during the shutdown.
On Monday, more than 30% of TSA workers were absent at New York JFK, Baltimore, Houston Hobby, Atlanta and New Orleans airports, DHS said.
At New York LaGuardia, ICE officers were walking the terminal on Monday and not performing duties handled by TSA officers. Social media posts from other airports showed ICE agents standing near TSA officers who were checking identification.
DHS rushed to deploy ICE agents after President Donald Trump said over the weekend they would be placed at airports if Democratic lawmakers did not make a funding deal.
Democrats have held up funding for DHS while demanding a change in rules governing its immigration operations, after agents in Minneapolis shot and killed U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, sparking public outrage. Republicans have rejected Democratic proposals to fund TSA while negotiating over ICE reforms.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel)
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