Footage from Friday morning showed long lines as Transportation Security Administration officials missed payment during the Homeland Security shutdown. (Credit: KXAN)
Union leaders representing Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers in Atlanta urged lawmakers Monday to end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), saying the tensions have crippled their members financially as they continue to work without pay.
Aaron Barker, president of AMG Local 554, said members of the union are financially exhausted as they face financial difficulties amid disagreements among lawmakers in Washington over DHS funding after missing their first paycheck.
“Unlike other government agencies like ICE and CBP, TSA employees work without pay,” Barker said at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. “Many are facing eviction notices. Car repossessed, empty fridges and overdrawn bank accounts.”
“All available financial means have been exhausted, but these police officers will still work to protect the traveling public, and face disciplinary action if they do not come to work,” he added.
HOW MUCH IS THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN COSTING OLDER AMERICAN TAXPAYERS?
TSA agents work at a security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan International Airport in Arlington, Virginia, March 15, 2026. (Photos by Aaron Schwartz/Reuters)
About 300 TSA agents have resigned, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday, and the call has doubled.
Duffy blamed Democrats for the funding rift, amid debate over proposed changes to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which many Republicans oppose.
DHS has been partially shut down for more than 30 days as Republicans await a budget proposal that fully funds all parts of the agency. Democrats have said they are willing to fund individual branches of the department, including the TSA, but not Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) until the Trump administration agrees to reform immigration.
Meanwhile, Barker said, TSA workers are struggling.
TRAVEL EXPERT WARNS AMERICAS TO ‘LOOK NOW’ AS AIR PRICES CUT TO HIGHER COSTS
Travelers and workers walk past Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on March 13, 2025. Union leaders in Atlanta called on Congress to end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security amid financial pressure on the TSA. (Annabelle GORDON / AFP via Getty Images)
“I’ve heard of police officers who can’t afford cancer treatment or office visits for their sick children,” he said.
“Requiring workers to work without pay is unconstitutional, and the financial consequences of this shutdown — damaged debt, missed payments and lost homes — will last forever when the government reopens,” he added. “This is not a one-sided issue. TSA employees did not cause this shutdown, but they are bearing the brunt of congressional inaction.”
A DHS spokesperson told FOX Business that 100,000 DHS employees did not receive their first full paycheck last week, amounting to $1 billion in unpaid wages each month.
“American travelers across the country are experiencing hours-long airport lines, which will only get worse as these closures continue,” the spokesperson said. “Democrats are shamelessly playing politics with national security, punishing hard-working TSA employees and their families.”
Passengers wait in a check-in line at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to lack funding, in Arlington, Virginia, March 16, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters Images)
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Barker said valuable public resources should not be used as a basis for political disputes, especially while members of Congress continue to receive their salaries. He said TSA officials have turned to finding other ways to make a living, such as hitchhiking.
“To be honest, the officials are upset. And we’re not just talking here in Atlanta,” Barker said. “We’re talking all over the country. The police are angry. They want this to end. They’re ready to go back…to some normality or some consistency in their lives.”
FOX Business’ Max Becall contributed to this report.
