A growing number of US airports are appealing for donations to support Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees who have been working without pay since the partial government shutdown began in February. TSA staff missed their first full paychecks on Friday, as the political standoff between Republicans and Democrats over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.
The shutdown stems from a dispute over immigration enforcement reforms, with Democrats refusing to back a funding bill for DHS—the TSA's parent agency—without guarantees on such reforms. As a result, TSA workers face the dilemma of continuing unpaid duty or seeking alternative income. Some airports have set up food pantries and are requesting donations of grocery and gasoline gift cards from the public.
The strain is beginning to show at security checkpoints. At Miami International Airport on Thursday, lines intermittently doubled normal clearance times, while a video of a security line stretching to the parking lot at New Orleans airport went viral. However, officials at Denver, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Cleveland airports reported relatively normal wait times, even during the busy spring break season.
One TSA agent at Miami airport commented, 'Not enough. Nothing happens until the public feels some pain.' Traveller Praharsha Pinninti described the pay issue as 'insane' and 'extremely unfair,' calling the legislative standoff 'a test of time, and a test of patience and a test of our integrity as an issue.'
Airports in Denver, Seattle, Las Vegas, Reno, Cleveland, Orlando, New York, and New Jersey are accepting donations, subject to federal regulations. Employees cannot accept cash or cash-equivalent cards like Visa gift cards, and all gift cards must be valued at $20 or less. Denver airport has received 'dozens' of gift cards from the public, according to public information officer Keylen Villagrana.
In Las Vegas, a food and essentials pantry has been reopened to support TSA employees, having first been established during a 2019 shutdown under Donald Trump's first presidency. Airport spokesperson Amanda Mazzagatti noted that some workers are still recovering from that previous shutdown. Cleveland's Hopkins International Airport also reopened a pantry in March, with public information officer Michele Dynia saying, 'The airport is like a family, and this is our way to help out our family members here at the airport.'
