Newark Airport Delays Soar As TSA Funding Ceases, ICE Presence Increases

Air travelers leaving New Jersey continue to fume over longer wait times in Newark Liberty International Airport, and an influx of immigration agents has sparked even more controversy.

With the Department of Homeland Security having been partially shut down for more than a month, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents have been working without pay for weeks. With hundreds of TSA agents walking out of U.S. airports as a result, staffing shortages are contributing to “significant” security and travel delays.

“Due to the federal funding lapse, security wait times may be significantly longer than normal. Wait times are subject to rapid change based on passenger volumes and TSA staffing,” Newark Liberty’s website reads. “For these reasons, wait time reporting has been temporarily suspended. Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight.”

According to the White House, the shutdown has resulted in more than 400 TSA agents walking out across the country and a loss of $2.5 billion.

Wait times of three to five hours have been reported in other U.S. airports in Texas and California, for example.

The shutdown and its fallout have resulted in another blame game from Republicans and Democrats.

“Democrats are intentionally disrupting Americans’ travel with their reckless shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security... It's awful and indefensible,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.

Meanwhile, Democrat NJ Senator Cory Booker made an appearance at Newark Liberty on Monday, calling on the Trump Administration to pay TSA agents.

“Fund TSA… We have tried over and over again to stop you from holding hostage the TSA and causing all this pain to the American people,” Booker said. “And you won’t do it, Donald Trump… Because you want to use our TSA agents and the American people, you want to use them as political pawns to create leverage for you to fund an out-of-control agency.”

Booker also called on the federal government to remove Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from Newark Liberty.

ICE In Newark Liberty

On Monday, President Trump ordered hundreds of ICE agents to patrol airports across the country, including in Newark, in an attempt to fill the labor gap caused by the shutdown.

Federal immigration agents were seen walking the concourse at Newark Airport around 6 a.m. Monday, captured in video and photos, unmasked and wearing vests marked “Police,” “ERO,” and “Police ICE.”

One X user says ICE agents were seen in Terminals B and C on Monday, “conducting document checks and secondary inspections on arrivals.”

One woman is going viral for yelling at agents in Newark Liberty, saying “Nazis don’t belong in airports” and chanting “ICE out now.”

Meanwhile, other Newark Liberty travelers were seen on social media shaking ICE agents' hands and appearing to thank them for their service.

ICE’s presence in airports across the country has led to several clashes, including one caught on a viral video in San Francisco International Airport, depicting a mother being detained in front of her child.

Read More: ICE Agents Seen 'Terrorizing' Mother During Arrest At Bay Area Airport, CA Senator Says

With no end in sight for the partial shutdown, it remains to be seen how long TSA agents will go without paychecks, how long travelers will be subject to longer wait times, and how long ICE agents will have an increased presence in Newark Liberty.

— With reporting from Eric Kiefer