Yesterday, I arrived at the LaGuardia Airport to return to Duke after spring break. Upon my arrival, I witnessed a security line longer than I've ever witnessed before. I've read on the news that security lines have been longer than normal, but I wasn't expecting to see a line that wrapped around almost all of the LaGuardia second floor. I was quickly consumed with questions. Let's find out why this is the case.
As of mid-February 2026, the U.S. government endured a partial shutdown due to a lapse in funding. In the 2026 Fiscal Year, President Trump and the Congress "failed to pass the legislation necessary to keep [the federal government’s Department of Homeland Security] open and operating," stated on official informational webpage published by the office of Ed Case on the U.S. House of Representatives website. Why? Well Congress and the President must agree to give money to government agencies in order for the agencies to continue operating.
On January 7th, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot in Minneapolis, and on January 24th, 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot and killed. This occurred because federal immigration agents were performing a large immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. While federal officials state that ICE was acting in self-defense, spectators suggest that the victims were not posing a serious threat to the federal officials. BBC states that "ICE was formed as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, a response to the terror attacks on 11 September 2001." However, the actions of ICE were questioned by spectators, resulting in the recent national debates about immigration enforcement and police use of force.
Most Democrats in Congress stated that they would not approve more funding to the Department of Homeland Security unless ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) agree to certain changes. While some lawmakers wanted ICE and CBP to adopt strict reforms before the DHS received any funding, others argued DHS should receive some funding without major changes. Since the two sides couldn't agree on the changes, funding ran out and the Department of Homeland Security shut down.
What is the impact of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown? First off, CBS News states that "Unscheduled absences among airport security officers have more than doubled during the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown, with more than 300 employees leaving the agency since the start of the DHS shutdown." This is because the majority of security officials working at U.S. airports are hired under and employed by the Department of Homeland Security. In fact, Transportation Security Officers, commonly known as TSA agents, are key personnel hired under DHS. Significantly, CBS News says "the shutdown has also accelerated departures from the workforce. TSA recorded 305 employee separations between Feb. 14 and March 9, and it can take months to replace those officers because of the four to six months of training required before employees are able to work independently at checkpoints."
Isn't it jarring as to how one disagreement in Congress can create such rippling, long-lasting effects?
So why do many airport personnel continue working then? Well it seems many workers don't have a job to fall back-on, so they're continuing to work until they can find a new job. On AOL, "A TSA officer said in an interview that as the partial shutdown reaches its one-month mark, workers forced to work without pay are now "panicking and scared" because they don't have enough in their pockets to fall back on." Many workers have also continued working because they expect the shutdown will soon end, and they will receive pay. However being that this is the longest DHS shutdown in the U.S., more airport personnel might leave the job due to decreased hopes of the shutdown ending.
