ICE agents were deployed to Puerto Rico's international airport on Monday (March 23), following reports of airport staff quitting and not turning up to work amid a partial government shutdown.

Footage from Tuesday (March 24) showed passengers waiting in long lines as ICE agents patrolled the terminal at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.

Hundreds of U.S. immigration agents and Homeland Security Investigations officers began deploying at 14 U.S. airports on Monday (March 23) 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.

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 reported on Tuesday (March 24) .

About 50,000 TSA officers are going without pay and are set to miss a second full paycheck on Friday (March 27).

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.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

CAROLINA, PUERTO RICO (MARCH 24, 2026)(REUTERS – Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF AREA NEAR LUIS MUNOZ MARIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

2. BORDER ENFORCEMENT SECURITY TASK FORCE OFFICERS WALKING IN TERMINAL

3. VARIOUS OF ICE AGENTS IN TERMINAL

4. PASSENGERS GRABBING THEIR LUGGAGE AFTER SECURITY CHECK

5. PASSENGERS LINING UP IN TERMINAL

6. PASSENGERS LINING UP OUTSIDE TERMINAL

7. (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) CEO AND PRESIDENT OF AEROSTAR AIRPORT HOLDINGS, JORGE HERNANDEZ, SAYING:

“As all airports in the United States have been affected by this, San Juan is no exception to this rule, and in recent days we have seen that staff shortages among TSA workers have increased. These employees have not been receiving their pay since this federal impasse, or budget impasse, began in mid-February. So what we have been experiencing as a result of this is longer security lines, which in turn means more crowding and delays, as it takes longer to process passengers than it normally would.”

8. PASSENGERS LINING UP IN TERMINAL

9. PASSENGERS APPROACHING SECURITY CHECK

10. (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) CEO AND PRESIDENT OF AEROSTAR AIRPORT HOLDINGS, JORGE HERNANDEZ, SAYING:

“Obviously, this depends on how many agency personnel are available across different shifts. The federal government also recently announced the deployment of ICE personnel, which is another federal agency. These personnel have already begun operating or have established a presence at various airports across the United States, including San Juan as of yesterday. Their presence has been focused on surveillance and monitoring in recent days. That said, it doesn’t change the fact that the agencies are coordinating to define their roles and responsibilities within the security protocols managed by the federal TSA agency. This is something the federal agencies themselves will communicate to the general public in due course—it’s not something that falls under our responsibility.”

11. VARIOUS OF ICE AGENTS IN TERMINAL

12. (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) FLIGHT PASSENGER, FRANCISCO TORRES, SAYING:

“Yes, it’s unfortunate, and it really is a huge burden for all of us who are traveling, because the public shouldn’t have to pay for the indecisions of politicians in Washington. And I think the Democrats should just concede at this point, sign and approve the budget that’s needed so this can reopen and things can return to normal. I think we need to be heard and not be kept in this uncertainty and chaos that we’re being put through.”

13. ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES SIGN ON ROAD NEAR AIRPORT