Latest
Democrats broke airport security. Now they’re calling the solution dangerous
Air travel in the United States is in crisis because of policy failures that have escalated from a nuisance into a national crisis. At Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, the busiest airport in the world, passengers faced security lines stretching for hours as TSA callout rates hit the highest since the shutdown began, with more than 3,200 officers nationwide failing to report to work. As the system buckles under this strain, the Trump administration is deploying ICE officers to stabilize operations, a practical response that has triggered immediate outrage from Democrats claiming it is unsafe or unlawful. The reality, however, is political: Democrats are leveraging the crisis to block standalone TSA funding unless ICE and Customs and Border Protection budgets are cut, turning stranded travelers into pawns in a broader fight over federal priorities.
This type of brinkmanship is irresponsible and a national security risk. Airports are designed for efficiency and convenience, but they are also high-risk, high-value targets that require structured, coordinated federal oversight to ensure screening, identity verification, perimeter control, and threat detection. As staffing levels collapse, internal pressure increases and vulnerabilities emerge, creating risks adversaries can exploit.
Political leverage is being applied to the most sensitive parts of our national infrastructure, and Americans are feeling the direct consequences. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged that Democrats are refusing to pass standalone TSA funding unless Republicans strip all funding from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Plainly, this means American security is being used as a bargaining chip in a broader political fight over immigration policy, and travelers are being forced to absorb the fallout.
TRUMP DEMANDS ‘SAVE AMERICA ACT’ BE TIED TO DHS FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS
As the country faces a Democrat-manufactured strain on airport operations, President Trump ordered the deployment of ICE officers to help stabilize airports, prompting immediate and predictable claims that the move is unsafe or unlawful. Those claims are patently false. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, Ice officers operate with full federal authority to question, detain, and arrest removable individuals in the United States. The Homeland Security Act grants DHS broad authority to allocate personnel across its components to secure transportation systems. There is no statute requiring that only TSA personnel perform functions such as identity verification, perimeter security, or line management. Under this broad authority, DHS retains the ability to reallocate federal personnel in a crisis, making clear that Democrats are raising a political objection, not a legal one. This authority has always existed under federal law.
And beyond the politics, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries escalated the rhetoric with outright fearmongering. Appearing on CNN, he warned that deploying ICE agents to airports could result in them “brutalizing or, in some instances, kill” travelers. That is not a legal argument grounded in statute or even reality. It is a political narrative used to block a crisis response.
What this moment exposes is an inconsistency in how Democrats treat federal enforcement authority. They accept it when it suits them and reject it as unlawful when it doesn’t. House Democrats have voted for bills that provide billions to fund ICE and DHS operations, and 75 House Democrats supported a resolution expressing gratitude for ICE’s role in protecting the homeland. Democratic leadership has repeatedly voted to keep DHS funded, including ICE, despite backlash from their own base. However, now the officers are too dangerous to assist with routine airport functions. That contradiction is impossible to ignore.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
Even within the administration, there has been discussion about how best to implement the deployment. Border Czar Tom Homan made clear that ICE agents aren’t trained to operate X-Ray machines but will be assigned to non-screening roles, such as securing exits or assisting with basic security functions to free up TSA officers for screening duties. At the same time, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized that ICE officers are trained federal law enforcement personnel capable of supporting airport security. That operational distinction is worth discussing but does not support the claim that the deployment is unlawful.
The more important question is what happens next. There is no clear path to resolution, and TSA staffing will not recover overnight. If Democrats continue to use funding as leverage, the strain on airport operations will persist, forcing a choice between allowing critical infrastructure to degrade or deploying the federal resources already available to stabilize it. This is the direct consequence of turning operational capacity into a political bargaining tool.
While headlines may continue to focus on airport delays, what is happening at airports is a real-time test of whether the federal government can function under pressure. If political actors withhold funding, manufacture operational strain, and then block lawful solutions to extract policy concessions, that playbook will not stop at the TSA. It will extend to border security, disaster response, law enforcement, and every other system where federal resources can be leveraged for political gain. The truth is that the law has not changed, the authority has always existed, and the surrounding outrage is manufactured.
At least three people were killed and two others injured Thursday when a helicopter crashed into the ocean off the coast of Hawaii.
According to the Kauaʻi Police Department, dispatchers received a call at approximately 3:45 p.m. that a helicopter had crashed into the ocean near Kalalau Beach.
The helicopter was operated by Airborne Aviation, with one pilot and four passengers onboard, officials said.
Officials confirmed in a news release that the crash resulted in three fatalities. Two others were taken to Wilcox Medical Center for treatment.
TWO PEOPLE KILLED AFTER HELICOPTER HITS POWER LINE AND CRASHES INTO BARGE ON MISSISSIPPI RIVER
The crash location along Kauaʻi’s north shore is a popular spot for helicopter tours, with views of cliffs, beaches and waterfalls along the Nā Pali Coast.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Airborne Aviation for comment.
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Latest
TSA officers lose homes, can’t pay medical bills, can’t afford Easter baskets for their children
FIRST ON FOX — Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are receiving their third paycheck of zero dollars on Friday as the DHS shutdown drags on — with President Donald Trump saying late Thursday he would sign an executive order to “immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation” and “quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports.”
TSA exclusively shared with Fox News Digital stories of officers stationed at various airports across the nation who have been experiencing great personal hardship as a result of the shutdown and its consequences, with names omitted for privacy reasons.
One officer at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia had his dream of owning a home abruptly shattered — forcing him to make life-altering decisions.
AIR TRAVELERS ARE HACKING TSA LINES DURING HOURS-LONG MAJOR AIRPORT WAITS
His bank denied him a loan for a home in Georgia due to his current inability to make rent payments.
The officer now has to move nearly 1,000 miles to go live with family in New York.
Here are other stories.
Yet another TSA officer, this one working at Tulsa International Airport in Oklahoma, suffered a devastating house fire last week on top of the challenges of receiving no pay.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
As a result, she lost her home, her belongings, her car and a beloved pet.
She and her family now have to rebuild their lives without knowing when she’ll be paid.
Another TSA officer had uprooted her life to move to New York to work at Albany International Airport.
Now, due to the back-to-back shutdowns and her lack of steady pay, her credit score has dropped from 800 to 500.
To survive, she moved into a camper, the agency reported. The electricity in the camper has since gone out — and she can’t afford to have it fixed.
At the beginning of the month, powerful storms ripped through Michigan, with tornadoes reducing some homes to rubble and causing widespread damage in the Great Lake State.
Multiple TSA officers working at Detroit Metropolitan Airport were left with damaged homes and vehicles. Today, these officers cannot afford to fix them, the TSA told Fox News Digital.
A TSA agent working at Portland International Airport in Oregon is the sole caregiver for his mother. He also supports his brother.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES
Now, his mother has been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer and his brother has suffered a severe leg infection — putting him out of work.
The TSA officer is responsible for these family members’ medical expenses.
A TSA agent at Bismarck Airport in North Dakota has worked there for nearly 10 years — enduring multiple government shutdowns.
She has had to make the tough choice now of leaving the job she loves after realizing she can’t even afford to buy Easter baskets for her children this year.
Since the start of this partial government shutdown, more than 480 TSA officers have been forced to quit their jobs.
“I can tell you right now that the reverberations that will be felt from this will be long-standing,” TSA Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl told Fox News Digital this week.
“They will continue for days [even] after we get a re-appropriation and funding, particularly for the TSA.”
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“We are already taking proactive measures to make sure that we’re going to get our people paid as quickly as possible,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed reporting.
In just his second season at the helm, Curt Cignetti led Indiana to its first national championship.
During the Hoosiers’ title run, Cignetti became known for his demanding coaching style. Indiana opened spring practice Thursday, and incoming transfer wide receiver Nick Marsh got a crash course in what it means to play for Cignetti.
Marsh, who transferred from Michigan State, arrived at practice in gold cleats. After noting Marsh’s productive two-year stint in East Lansing, Cignetti pivoted to the wideout’s footwear.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
“I didn’t love those gold shoes he came out in today,” Cignetti said. “He learned what getting your a– ripped is all about. I don’t know if that happened to him very often at Michigan State. That was before practice started.”
Marsh totaled 1,311 receiving yards and nine touchdowns at Michigan State. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover also headlines Indiana’s transfer additions.
Cignetti added that the coaching staff has “more work to do with this group than the first two teams,” noting the group is still learning more about players the team will likely rely on next season.
Indiana went 16-0 en route to a thrilling win over Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship in January.
Cignetti framed his callout of Marsh’s cleats as an early message about expectations.
“That was a wake-up call,” Cignetti said of the receiver’s pre-practice cleats. “But he’s really worked hard, done a great job for us.”
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
TSA officers lose homes, can’t pay medical bills, can’t afford Easter baskets for their children
Helicopter crashes into ocean off Hawaii coast, leaving multiple dead and injured
DHS shutdown breakthrough comes at cost for Republicans as funding fights nears end
Pentagon targets Iran-linked militias in Iraq as Hegseth vows ‘we will finish this’ for fallen US troops
9 Celebrities who have spoken out about being photoshopped
Inside Joe Kent’s abrupt fall as GOP backlash grows over antisemitism accusations, FBI probe
-
Politics1 week agoPentagon targets Iran-linked militias in Iraq as Hegseth vows ‘we will finish this’ for fallen US troops -
Entertainment9 years ago9 Celebrities who have spoken out about being photoshopped
-
News1 week agoInside Joe Kent’s abrupt fall as GOP backlash grows over antisemitism accusations, FBI probe
-
Latest1 week agoHouse Democrats vote against deporting immigrants who harm police dogs, horses
-
Latest1 week agoPence urges Senate to ‘restore public confidence’ with nationwide voter ID law
-
Politics1 week agoPentagon seeks at least $200B from Congress for Iran war
-
Latest3 days ago
Kentucky family says it turned down $26M from AI giant to keep farmland that ‘fed a nation’
-
News4 days ago
Trump Says US Negotiating With Iran, Postpones Power Plant Strikes