Travelers stood in winding lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport early Monday morning (March 23) where a shortage of transportation security workers has caused long delays and prompted the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to fill in the seucrity gaps. Absences among TSA agents this weekend reached their highest since a partial government shutdown began five weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security said on Sunday.

At airports in Houston, New York ‌and Atlanta, more than one-third of Transportation Security Administration staff were calling in sick or otherwise absent, DHS said, as the shutdown left tens of thousands working without pay while congressional Democrats and Republicans argue over the DHS budget.

DHS said on Sunday it would not publicly share details about the ICE deployment, in order to preserve operational security, but sources briefed on the matter said the current plan calls for deploying ICE agents to 14 locations, although that figure may change.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VARIOUS OF TRAVELERS AT HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

COMPLETE SCRIPT TO FOLLOW

SHOWS: ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. LONG LINES OF TRAVELERS LINED UP AROUND THE BAGGAGE CAROUSELS

2. VARIOUS OF TRAVELERS AT THE AIRPORT

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANDRES CAMPOS, TRAVELER FROM FLORIDA, SAYING:

"Oh my god, this is insane. I mean, I've never experienced anything like this. It's crazy. It's insane. I mean, I've never seen an airport like this."

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TRACY GETTYS, TRAVELER FROM ALABAMA, SAYING:

"We travel a lot for work. This is probably the worst that we've ever experienced in our twenty years of traveling."

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TONY GETTYS, TRAVELER FROM ALABAMA, SAYING:

"Actually, we thanked all the TSA agents for their service for coming in today."

TRACY GETTY: "Correct, correct."

6. ICE AGENTS STANDING IN A GROUP, TALKING TO EACH OTHER

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TRACY GETTYS, TRAVELER FROM ALABAMA, SAYING:

"My first thought, and I think my first reaction was, who are they gonna throw to the ground? You know, who are they gonna throw around? You know, if you do or say something wrong or even look suspicious, I mean, just that unknown fear there. And he (referring to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ) stated that, you know, he would place them at exit doors, right - not in any TSA where we'd have to involve them in baggage. And then I've seen the TSA, gosh, the union? The union at this point, you know, talk about they weren't welcome

So I mean, I see a little bit of both sides, like I see what can they do to help? But how are people feeling? And I think we just never received any security. There's no closure still on what's been happening with ICE. So, you know, it's been, it's kind of confusing, you know, actually on how you should feel and you should feel safe in an airport, for sure.

8. TRAVLERS ENTERING THE AIRPORT

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN EDWARDS, ATLANTA RESIDENT, SAYING:

"It's really inconsiderate of - well, it's primarily based on our leadership here. I think that's the big issue, is if the leadership was right, then we wouldn't have circumstances like this. This would be a minor inconvenience."

10. VARIOUS OF LINES AT AIRPORT