Since mid-February, about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers have been working without pay during a partial government shutdown. A Congressional battle over immigration enforcement has held up funding for the Department of Homeland Security, and airport security is caught in the middle. On Friday, the Senate failed for the fifth time to advance a bill to fund the department, with no deal in sight.
More than 360 TSA officers have quit their jobs since the shutdown began, and absenteeism has climbed sharply, with 10 percent of the workforce failing to show up to work. At some airports, more than a third of officers have missed shifts. The situation has gotten so bad that ICE agents are being brought in to help.
As lawmakers trade blame, the consequences are playing out at airports across the country. At New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, the security line recently stretched so far it wrapped across the entire terminal. A TSA officer who has worked for the TSA at LaGuardia for 23 years told The Free Press about the pressures that the agency’s airport staff face, and why he keeps coming in. Below is the account of the officer, whom we are calling Edward N. He did not want his real name used because he has been told he is not permitted to speak with the media.
Here we go again.
That was my first thought when I saw the news about the government shutdown last month. I wasn’t shocked.
