la guardia travelers are paying close attention tonight as spring break crowds and a partial government shutdown keep airport security lines moving slowly across the country. As of 12: 25 AM ET on March 23, 2026, travelers at major hubs are still describing heavy crowds, confusion, and long waits at checkpoints. The pressure is building because TSA workers have continued to report to work without pay since Feb. 14, leaving airports struggling to keep lines under control.
Shutdown-era crowds and long checkpoint waits ripple nationwide
At DFW Airport, security wait times reached nearly 50 minutes on Sunday, even as travelers arriving from other airports described far longer delays elsewhere. Some passengers coming from Atlanta said they spent three to four hours getting through security, a gap that can disrupt schedules far beyond a single terminal when missed flights and late arrivals cascade through the system.
Travelers described a scene that felt overwhelmed. Stephanie Flores, returning to DFW from Atlanta, said, “It was really long, it was chaotic, honestly, ” adding that staff appeared “overwhelmed with everything. ” Adelaide Peters, traveling with her soccer team, said the lines were “very overstimulating, ” describing “a bunch of crowded space. ”
For many flyers, the frustration has been less about one delay and more about not knowing what to expect. Andy Mahtani, who was in Atlanta visiting his daughter, said, “There was a lot of confusion, ” describing a short-staffed environment with “no one really to even explain what the process was. ”
Officials weigh ICE support as travelers vent frustration
President Trump is calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to be deployed at airports across the country to assist TSA workers. The administration said ICE officers will undergo some training between now and Monday.
Johnny Jones, with the local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees Union, said there is still uncertainty about what that assistance would mean in practice: “We don’t have any clearance, we don’t have no idea what their mission is going to be. ” Jones said he believes TSA workers are being used as political pawns, and he urged a funding solution that ends the standoff. “I definitely have to blame both sides of this equation, ” he said. “We’re asking for continued resolution… it’s time for a continued resolution to keep the government open, and additional funding to pay the TSA officers. ”
ICE did not directly answer questions about how agents would assist TSA and what that would look like, but the move would “help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize travel disruptions. ”
What this means for la guardia travelers right now
For la guardia passengers watching the situation unfold, the clearest message from travelers moving through the system is that delays and confusion can emerge quickly when staffing is strained and crowds remain heavy. North Texas mother Yara Sutton described the fallout when long lines upend plans: her sons missed their flight in Atlanta because of security delays and had to fly standby on a later flight. “The TSA issue has been a mess, ” Sutton said. “I’m so frustrated… I’m so stressed out. ”
What’s next is tied to two moving pieces: how quickly any ICE support is defined and implemented after the promised training, and whether policymakers reach a continued resolution that reopens the government and restores pay certainty for TSA staff. Until then, the experiences described at DFW and Atlanta underscore a reality for airports nationwide: long lines at one major hub can trigger disruptions that reach far beyond it.
