Trump Moves To Restore TSA Pay As ICE Airport Role Depends On Staffing Levels
Agents with the Transportation Security Administration are expected to begin receiving paychecks again within days after President Donald Trump ordered emergency action to restore funding, but disruptions at airports may continue as staffing levels recover.
Border czar Tom Homan said he had coordinated with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to carry out the president’s directive, which allows TSA workers to be paid using existing funds. After weeks without full compensation, agents could begin seeing pay as early as Monday or Tuesday.
The prolonged funding standoff has taken a toll on airport operations, with widespread callouts from TSA employees leading to longer wait times and operational strain across major travel hubs. Even with pay restored, officials expect a lag before staffing stabilizes and normal service resumes.
Homan also addressed the administration’s decision to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to assist at airports during the disruption. He said their continued presence will depend on how many TSA workers return and how quickly agencies can rebuild staffing levels.
“We’ll see,” Homan said during an interview with Jake Tapper on State of the Union. “It depends how many TSA agents come back to work and how many have left for good.”
The executive order, signed Friday, directs DHS to identify funding streams with a clear connection to TSA operations and redirect those resources to ensure agents are paid. The move came after a weeks-long impasse in Congress left key parts of the Department of Homeland Security unfunded.
The shutdown, driven by Democrats blocking DHS funding, has affected multiple agencies beyond TSA, including FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service. While some frontline immigration enforcement officers have continued receiving pay under separate provisions, many support staff have gone without compensation.
Reporting from Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin highlighted that while agents in the field remain paid, civilian personnel who handle logistics, communications, and administrative support have missed paychecks for extended periods.
Efforts in the Senate to pass a partial funding measure for DHS failed to gain traction in the House, where lawmakers instead pushed for a more comprehensive approach aligned with the president’s position. Disagreements over immigration policy provisions continue to stall a broader resolution, leaving the administration to rely on executive authority to address immediate concerns.