ICE Agents Are Now at the New Orleans Airport. Here’s What That Means for Your Flight.

NEW ORLEANS, La. (KPEL News) — ICE agents are on the ground at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport this morning, deployed by the White House to fill in for a TSA workforce that has been working without pay for more than five weeks.

The partial government shutdown, now in its sixth week, has pushed wait times at MSY into hours-long territory. Some travelers are sleeping in security lines overnight just to hold their place and avoid missing another flight.

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What New Orleans Travelers Need to Know Right Now

Airport officials confirmed Monday that federal support is available at the terminal, though they declined to specify whether ICE agents are on site. The deployment follows an announcement Sunday by White House border czar Tom Homan, who told CNN’s State of the Union that ICE would be at airports Monday morning.

ICE agents are not running the X-ray machines. “We’re simply there to help TSA do their job in areas that don’t need their specialized expertise, such as screening through the X-ray machine,” an airport official told Fox 8. Homan said ICE officers will cover exit doors and handle crowd control, which frees certified TSA screeners to work the checkpoint lines.

The union representing TSA officers isn’t buying it. “ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security,” AFGE president Everett Kelly said. TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives and weapons built to evade detection at checkpoints. “You cannot improvise that,” Kelly added.

How Bad Are the Lines at MSY?

Peak travel hours at Armstrong run from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. and again from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Airport officials are advising travelers to arrive at least three hours before their flight, though some passengers during peak windows have reported waiting closer to five hours. Overnight, travelers began sleeping in the TSA line itself to hold their position and avoid missing another day of flights.

New Orleans is not alone. According to NPR, more than 11 percent of TSA workers called out on March 21, the highest callout rate since the shutdown began. For six straight days last week, the nationwide callout rate stayed above 9 percent. More than 300 TSA officers have left the agency entirely since the shutdown started February 14.

At other airports around the country, the numbers have been worse. More than half of scheduled staff were absent one Sunday at a Houston airport, and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson reported nearly 40 percent of officers missing earlier in the week.

Why Are TSA Workers Going Unpaid?

This goes back to a funding fight over the Department of Homeland Security. According to CNBC, the DHS shutdown started February 14 after two American citizens were killed during federal immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis. Democrats have tied DHS funding to policy changes on ICE operations, including warrant requirements and restrictions on agents wearing masks. Republicans have blocked Democratic attempts to fund TSA separately.

Over the weekend, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer pushed a measure to fund TSA as a standalone bill. Republicans blocked it 49 to 41. Congress has now failed to advance a DHS funding bill five times.

ICE still has plenty of money. The agency received billions in funding last summer through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and is not affected by the shutdown.

President Trump posted Sunday on Truth Social that he would send ICE officers to airports, pointing to Democratic obstruction as the reason. “This pointless, reckless shutdown of our homeland security workforce has caused more than 400 TSA officers to quit and thousands to call out from work because they are not able to afford gas, childcare, food, or rent,” Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis told NPR.

What Comes Next for New Orleans Flyers

Airport disruptions will not ease until Congress funds DHS and TSA officers get paid. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he expects more agents to quit or stop showing up as the week goes on.

If you are flying through MSY this week, get there early. Three hours is the official recommendation, but during peak windows you should plan for more. TSA PreCheck holders have reported shorter waits at airports nationwide throughout the shutdown.

There is no deal in sight on Capitol Hill.

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