WASHINGTON, D.C. — Day 43 of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown began with Congress on recess, ICE agents deployed to airports across the country, and a presidential executive order as the only thing standing between millions of spring break travelers and airport chaos. No deal has been reached. No deal appears imminent. And the shutdown is now on track to become the longest in American history.
Where Things Stand
The Senate and House have both left Washington for two-week Easter recesses, sending lawmakers home at what may become a historic low point for congressional dysfunction. The DHS funding lapse is on track to surpass 43 days on Sunday, which would make it the longest such shutdown on record, eclipsing last fall’s 43-day standoff.
The two chambers left Washington having passed two completely different and mutually incompatible bills. The Senate, in a voice vote in the early hours of Friday morning, approved a bill that would reopen most of DHS but exclude funding for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection. The legislation did not include most of the reforms to immigration enforcement that Democrats demanded.
Hours later, the House voted 213-203 to pass a stop-gap bill to fund all of DHS—including ICE—for 60 days. The vote effectively ensures the shutdown continues with no clear end in sight.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the House bill dead on arrival. Senate Democrats have repeatedly rejected similar proposals, maintaining they will not approve more funding for ICE without reforms.
Trump’s Executive Order—What it Does and Doesn’t Do
Faced with worsening airport chaos and a Congress unable to act, Trump moved unilaterally when the president signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents, declaring the airport situation a national emergency.
“Because the Democrats have recklessly created a true National Crisis, I am using my authorities under the Law to protect our Great Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed that TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday, March 30, following Trump’s directive. “Today, at the direction of President Trump and the Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, TSA has immediately begun the process of paying its workforce,” the spokesperson said.
But the executive order solves only part of the problem. Other DHS personnel—including the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and certain CBP support staff—will still have their paychecks withheld until the department’s funding is fully restored by Congress.
ICE at the Airports
Earlier this week, Trump deployed ICE agents to airports to assist TSA as security lines stretched out terminal doors. The move came as TSA absences hit record highs and travelers across the country faced waits of three to five hours at major hubs.
ICE agents are law enforcement officers trained for immigration enforcement—not airport security screening. Their deployment to TSA checkpoints represents an unprecedented departure from the security model the United States has maintained at commercial airports since their creation after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The White House has not clarified whether ICE agents at airports are conducting immigration arrests in addition to security assistance.
The Human Cost at the Airports
The call-out rate for TSA officers hit 11.83% on Thursday—the highest of the entire shutdown—translating to more than 3,450 personnel absent from work in a single day. The highest call-out rates were recorded at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Baltimore/Washington International Airport.
More than 500 TSA officers have now quit during the funding lapse—a figure that carries long-term consequences. Senior officials have warned of lasting staffing impacts because each new TSA officer replacement requires four to six months of training and certification, leaving critical gaps in airport security that cannot be quickly filled even after a deal is reached.
Travelers at major airports described scenes of genuine disruption. “Congress needs to do their job, stop futzing around and messing up everyone’s lives,” one traveler told CNN at LaGuardia Airport. Another passenger described the situation as “insanity.”
What Miami Residents Need to Know Before Flying This Weekend
Miami International Airport is one of the busiest international gateways in the Western Hemisphere—and the DHS shutdown has hit it directly.
Signs at MIA security checkpoints have displayed wait times of 18 minutes that bore no resemblance to reality. One couple returning from Lima, Peru, stood in line for nearly two hours at the airport, counting hundreds of passengers ahead of them while racing to make a 7 a.m. flight, per The Washington Post.
One traveler passing through South Florida airports this week described conditions at Miami as comparable to Atlanta—among the hardest-hit airports in the country. “When we left Atlanta, the wheelchair line was longer than anything else,” she said of the cascading delays affecting every category of passenger, including those requiring special assistance.
Is ICE being deployed to MIA?
As of early this week, Miami International Airport officials confirmed they had not been notified by TSA or ICE that agents would be assigned to MIA. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport similarly confirmed it had received no notification of ICE deployment. That, however, could change—DHS has declined to publicly confirm which airports are receiving agents, citing operational security—but South Florida’s two major airports have not been among the publicly confirmed deployment sites.
When will lines improve at MIA?
Trump’s executive order directing TSA agents to be paid takes effect Monday, March 30. Aviation security expert Sheldon Jacobson said that if TSA agents receive their paychecks on Monday as promised, air travel could stabilize relatively soon. “I suspect people will be showing up for work more consistently now, and these delays will come to a somewhat abrupt end,” Jacobson said.
However, the executive order does not resolve the underlying shutdown—Congress has left for a two-week Easter recess with no deal in place, and the path to a permanent funding solution remains unclear. TSA agents being paid does not mean staffing returns to normal immediately.
What to do if you are flying out of MIA this weekend
Arrive at least three hours before any domestic flight and four hours before any international departure. Check the TSA wait times app—available on iOS and Android—before leaving home, though be aware that posted times have been unreliable. If you are traveling with children, elderly passengers, or anyone requiring wheelchair assistance, add additional time. Spring break travel is at peak volume this weekend, compounding the shutdown’s effects on staffing.
How it Started—and Why it Has Lasted This Long
The shutdown began in February after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during a major immigration enforcement operation. Democrats vowed to withhold DHS funding until Republicans agreed to new checks on ICE agents—including requiring identification, banning face coverings, and mandating judicial warrants before forcibly entering homes.
The Trump administration agreed to some concessions—body cameras, reduced enforcement near sensitive locations including schools and churches—but drew a firm line on the warrant requirement and the face-covering ban. Democrats said the concessions were insufficient. Republicans said Democrats kept moving the goalposts.
Every GOP senator supported the Senate’s bipartisan deal in the early hours of Friday. But House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected it hours later, saying he had to “protect the House” and “protect the American people,” citing concerns over immigration enforcement capabilities. Several House Republicans broke with Johnson privately, though not publicly.
What Happens Next
Congress does not return from Easter recess for two weeks. Unless Senate Democrats agree to the House’s 60-day stopgap, which they have indicated they will not—or House Republicans agree to pass the Senate’s bipartisan bill, which Johnson has rejected—the shutdown will continue to grind on through the holiday weekend and beyond.
For Miami’s Latin American community, which depends heavily on international air travel to maintain family and business connections across the hemisphere, the airport disruptions carry particular weight. Miami International Airport—one of the country’s busiest international hubs—has been among those hit hardest by TSA absences. The dysfunction in Washington is landing, literally, at South Florida’s front door.
U.S. immigration policy, the latest politics on Capitol Hill, and their impact on Latin American communities Miami & South Florida is central to Sociedad Media’s coverage. Have a tip or a story? Write to us at info@sociedadmedia.com
