Even after President Donald Trump ordered emergency pay for Transportation Security Administration agents to ease long security lines, major U. S. airports on Sunday were still urging travelers to arrive hours early and federal immigration officers brought in to help may not be leaving anytime soon. Trump’s executive order on Friday instructed the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers immediately, though it’s unclear how quickly travelers will see an impact. The move comes during a busy travel stretch, with spring breaks underway and Passover and Easter approaching. Tens of thousands of TSA employees have been working without pay since DHS funding lapsed on Valentine’s Day. The department’s shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, eclipsing the record 43-day shutdown last fall that affected all of the federal government. Trump deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to some airports a week ago to help with security as TSA callouts rose nationwide the same officers who may now remain in place if TSA staffing strains continue. Making the rounds on Sunday morning news shows, White House border czar Tom Homan said it depends on how many TSA employees would be returning to work after they start receiving their pay. “ICE is there to help our brothers and sisters in TSA. We’ll be there as long as they need us, until they get back to normal operations and feel like those airports are secure,” he told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Homan said it also depends on how many TSA agents “have actually quit and have no plan on coming back to work.” Nearly 500 TSA officers have left the agency since the shutdown started, according to DHS. On Saturday night, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in a post on X that more ICE agents were being deployed to Baltimore-Washington International Airport to assist at TSA security checkpoints to “speed up the clearance process for passengers not immigration enforcement.” Homan, in his CNN interview, said he hopes TSA officers will be paid by Monday or Tuesday. “It’s good news because these TSA officers are struggling,” Homan said. “They can’t feed their families or pay their rent.” Also on Sunday, Charlotte Douglas International Airport said in a post on X that backpay could arrive for TSA agents beginning Monday. “While this action provides critical relief, CLT supports long-term solutions to ensure continued stability for this essential workforce,” the airport said. Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees’ TSA chapter, said Sunday that he has heard from workers worried they may not receive their full back pay because TSA management was given very short notice to begin processing payments. He also said TSA agents are concerned they could miss pay for time they were unable to work because they couldn’t afford to report for duty. “It is a disaster in progress,” Jones said. Some of the busiest U. S. airports continued to ask travelers to plan ahead in order to get through security lines. Houston’s main airport, George Bush Intercontinental, warned Sunday evening that TSA wait times could reach four hours or longer. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport also told passengers to arrive at least four hours early for both domestic and international flights. LaGuardia Airport posted an alert Sunday evening on its website that “TSA lines are currently longer than usual.” Baltimore-Washington International Airport said Sunday on X that “wait times have greatly subsided on this Spring Break Sunday,” but it still asked passengers to show up several hours early. Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans offered the same guidance. Also on Sunday, passengers could once again see estimated security wait times at the three main airports serving the New York City area LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty. All three had removed that feature from their websites earlier in the week, citing “rapid” changes in passenger volumes and TSA staffing. For the same reason, they cautioned that the restored wait times my not always “reflect current conditions”. It’s hard to tell. Caleb Harmon-Marshall, a former TSA officer who runs a travel newsletter called Gate Access, said the staffing crisis won’t improve significantly until officers are confident that they won’t be subjected to more skipped paychecks. “It has to be an extended pay for them to come back or want to stay there,” he said, estimating longer lines could linger for another week or two. Jones, the TSA union leader, offered a more optimistic outlook on Sunday, saying he’s hopeful that passengers could see wait times ease closer to typical levels once workers are able to afford basic expenses like gas to get to work. TSA will also have to decide whether to reopen the checkpoints and security lanes they closed or consolidated at some airports due to inadequate staffing, which led to passengers standing in screening lines that clogged check-in areas or showing up far too early for their flights. A handful of airports have experienced daily TSA officer call-out rates of 40% or higher in recent weeks. ___ Sedensky reported from New York, Yamat from Las Vegas and Raby from Charleston, West Virginia. Associated Press journalist Julie Walker contributed from New York.
https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/tsa-pay-coming-airport-delays-persist-ice-agents-131505155
Tag Archives: donald trump
No ICE agents at Logan Airport yet as agents deploy to busy airports
No ICE agents took up Transportation Security Administration roles at Logan Airport in Boston Monday as President Donald Trump orders federal immigration agents to beleaguered airports, the local union said. ICE agents were not deployed to any New England airport, according to Mike Gayzagian, the president of AFGE Local 2617, the New England branch of the TSA officers’ union. Agents could come next week, but those rumors are unsubstantiated, Gayzagian said. A group of DHS officers were seen at Logan Monday and indicated to The Boston Globe they were part of a “Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response” operation, a TSA specialized security team that has been in operation for years, the paper reported. As the partial government shutdown continues into its second month, funding for DHS, including U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is at the center of the shutdown. Trump said Sunday he would send ICE agents to airports starting Monday. Massport confirmed ICE agents were not deployed at Logan International Airport, but deferred to the TSA. Speaking for TSA, DHS declined to say if agents were deployed to New England airports, citing “operational security reasons.” ICE agents were deployed to 14 airports, CNN reported, where airport wait times were reaching multiple hours. Logan Airport, where the majority of TSA agents have stayed at work, has so far avoided the delays plaguing other major hubs. Here are the airports, per CNN, where ICE agents were deployed, where Trump promised they would arrest “all Illegal Immigrants.“.
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/03/23/no-ice-agents-at-logan-airport-yet-as-agents-deploy-to-busy-airports/
Tons of aid flows into Cuba as humanitarian convoy arrives on the struggling island
HAVANA — Some 650 delegates from 33 countries and 120 organizations began arriving in Cuba on Friday as part of a solidarity caravan transporting some 20 tons of humanitarian aid. The island is grappling with a severe energy crisis amid heightened tensions with the United States.
Members of the “Our America Convoy to Cuba” arrived by air from Italy, France, Spain, the United States, and several Latin American countries. More delegates are scheduled to arrive by sea on Saturday aboard a flotilla of three vessels from Mexico, organizers reported. A group of activists had already arrived in Havana on Wednesday, delivering donations to hospitals in advance of the main caravan.
This visit comes amid increased strain between Cuba and the United States. Both governments have acknowledged holding talks after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an oil embargo on the island. Earlier this week, Trump stated he expected to have the “honor” of “taking Cuba in some form,” adding, “I can do anything I want.”
Among the donated items are solar panels, food supplies, and medicine to treat cancer. Cuba’s economy has been brought to a near standstill due to the energy embargo imposed in January, exacerbating a five-year economic crisis as the U.S. administration presses for political change on the island.
David Adler, a U.S. citizen and coordinator of Progressive International—one of the caravan’s organizers—stated, “In the end, we are dozens and dozens of delegates, and we represent millions of people in this convoy. We cannot allow this collective punishment. We cannot normalize it.”
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío also addressed the ongoing dialogue, firmly rejecting any talks about changing the political system or the potential departure of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. “The Cuban political system is not up for negotiation, nor is the president, nor the position of any official in Cuba, subject to negotiation with the United States or with the government of any other country,” Fernández de Cossío said. He noted that many areas of common interest exist where dialogue with Washington is possible, continuing the approach taken in the past.
Manolo de los Santos, from The People’s Forum and another caravan organizer, emphasized that this mission is not only about “defying the U.S. blockade” but also about preventing “another Gaza in the Americas.”
Several analysts and regional leaders, including Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, have warned of a possible humanitarian crisis unfolding in Cuba. Adler pointed out that both the flotilla that traveled to Gaza and the one heading to Cuba share numerous supporters.
In addition to social activists, the caravan includes unions, prominent figures, and political parties such as Morena from Mexico, the Workers’ Party of Brazil, and the Broad Front of Uruguay. Notable participants include British Parliamentarian Jeremy Corbyn, Colombian Senator Clara López, former Spanish politician Pablo Iglesias, U.S. labor leader Chris Smalls, and Brazilian humanitarian activist Thiago Ávila.
For weeks, the only aid reaching Cuba came from Mexico, which sent food and hygiene products on three occasions. However, activists and leaders in other countries have now begun forming support groups and collecting donations.
President Díaz-Canel expressed his gratitude on social media, stating, “They bring shipments of aid to combat the attempt to suffocate us. Welcome once again to the compassion of the people. Solidarity always returns to those who practice it with no other interest than human well-being.”
Brazil has announced plans to send 20,000 tons of food, primarily rice, beans, and powdered milk. Additionally, a group of Chilean parliamentarians arrived with aid on Thursday, and China reported through its embassy that a ship carrying 60,000 tons of rice has set sail for Cuba.
US military strikes alleged drug boat in Caribbean Sea, killing 3
WASHINGTON — The U. S. military said it killed three people Monday in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean Sea as part of the Trump administration’s monthslong campaign against alleged traffickers. Monday’s attack brought the death toll to at least 151 people since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels in early September. As with most of the military’s statements on the more than 40 known strikes, U. S. Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs but posted a video on X that showed a small boat with outboard engines being destroyed. “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” Southern Command stated in a post on X. “Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action.” President Donald Trump has said the U. S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.” Critics have questioned the overall legality of the strikes as well as their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the U. S. over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.
https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/us-military-strikes-alleged-drug-boat-caribbean-sea-130426274
Lawmakers urge Trump: Don’t politicize disaster aid ahead of winter storm
As dozens of states brace for a historic winter storm this weekend, all eyes are on President Donald Trump’s administration and whether politics will play a role in who receives federal disaster assistance.
Politico reported Friday that many governors of states in the path of Winter Storm Fern are already scrambling to line up resources. Nearly an inch of freezing rain is expected across much of the Deep South, while heavy snow is likely to pummel the bulk of the Midwest and the East Coast. According to the Weather Channel, the storm will impact approximately 230 million Americans.
An unnamed senior official within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) anonymously told Politico that states are “expecting the worst” after discussions with the Trump administration. “They’re preparing for no grants, no money,” the official said.
Recently, lawmakers on Capitol Hill approved a spending bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—under which FEMA operates—through 2026. One provision in the legislation stipulates that “snowstorms shall be eligible for Federal relief.”
Still, some Democrats worry the Trump administration will attempt to stifle aid to Democratic-run states. Under the second Trump administration, Cameron Hamilton, the former acting FEMA administrator, entertained the idea of denying aid for snowstorms.
Politico also reported that after catastrophic flooding in the spring of 2025, the Trump administration denied federal disaster funding to Maryland, led by Democratic Governor Wes Moore.
A spokesperson for Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) expressed concern, stating that the tendency of Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “to turn even the weather into a partisan issue and play politics with people’s lives may make an already bad situation somehow even worse.”
House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) urged the administration to adhere to the standard set by the recent DHS funding bill. “Any notion that snowstorms don’t qualify as a disaster defies logic and is unnecessarily cruel,” Thompson told Politico.
Since 2016, FEMA has spent roughly $272 million helping communities recover from snowstorms, according to Politico. While this is a significant amount, it remains comparatively small given the tens of billions of dollars the agency has spent on all disaster relief during that period.
States are particularly dependent on federal funds following snowstorms. Former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, who served during the Obama administration, told Politico that cash-strapped states which do not frequently experience wintry conditions tend to cut snow removal funding during lean times.
“We tried to set the thresholds to say, unless this is an extraordinary event, it should not be supplanting state and local responsibility to fund snow removal and treatment operations on their highways on the back of the federal taxpayers,” Fugate explained.
As Winter Storm Fern approaches, the nation watches closely to see how federal disaster assistance will be managed—and whether politics will influence which communities receive aid.
https://www.alternet.org/trump-disaster-aid-snowstorm/
Banker’s daughter floods MAGA PAC with millions as dad dodges felony bribery charges
A key super PAC supporting President Donald Trump received a series of donations from a woman whose father, a banker, settled felony charges of bribery in Puerto Rico, The New York Times reported on Friday.
The new details about how MAGA Inc. raised $100 million in the second half of 2025 include contributions from several entities with business before the administration, according to Ken Vogel and Karen Yourish. Among the donors were Greg Brockman, a co-founder of the artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, and his wife, Anna Brockman, each contributing $12.5 million. Additionally, the parent company of Crypto.com donated a total of $20 million. Other notable donors included the vape company Juul, whose product recently secured FDA approval, and American Rights and Reform PAC, a pro-marijuana group.
One of the more striking cases involved Isabela Herrera. She initially donated $2.5 million to MAGA Inc. in late 2024 while her father, Julio Herrera Velutini—a Venezuelan-Italian banker—was facing federal charges for attempting to bribe the governor of Puerto Rico in 2020.
In May, a top Trump appointee at the Justice Department authorized a misdemeanor plea deal to settle the case, overruling career prosecutors who had pushed for a harsher sentence. Then, in July, Ms. Herrera made an additional $1 million donation to MAGA Inc.
This report follows an earlier August article detailing how MAGA Inc. effectively operates as a platform to sell access and favor with the president, despite being legally independent and distinct from presidential control.
https://www.rawstory.com/maga-inc-donors/
‘People are having trouble getting by’: Conservative slams Trump’s economy on Fox News
A conservative columnist on Wednesday criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy during an interview.
Byron York, a columnist for The Washington Examiner, discussed the state of the economy in an interview on “The Ingraham Angle” with host Laura Ingraham. He highlighted that the economy is an area where the Republican Party is not effectively addressing many people’s concerns, which could spell trouble for the party in the upcoming midterm elections.
“Look at credit card balances; they have gone up and up,” York said. “People are using credit cards for essential items. Car loan delinquencies are going up. These are real indicators that people are having trouble getting by every single day.”
Throughout his second term, Trump has repeatedly made misleading claims about the economy. For example, he has asserted that his administration “defeated inflation,” although economic data suggests otherwise. He has also claimed unprecedented job growth despite statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicating that job growth has been flat since he took office.
Fact-checkers have frequently challenged Trump’s economic narratives, pointing out exaggerations related to manufacturing job creation, trade deficits, and the broader economic recovery.
York appeared to challenge Trump’s narrative on inflation during the interview, stating, “The inflation that went up under Biden is still there.”
https://www.rawstory.com/byron-york/
Trump Addresses Nation After National Guardsman Ambushed by Afghan National in DC [WATCH]
President Donald Trump addressed the country on Wednesday following a shooting in Washington, D. C., that left three people wounded, including two members of the West Virginia National Guard. The incident occurred in the vicinity of the White House and prompted immediate responses from federal and local authorities. The president said the attack was reportedly carried out by an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021 under President Joe Biden. Trump described the shooting as “a crime against our nation.” “This heinous assault was an act of evil and act of hatred and an act of terror,” Trump said. “It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity. Americans tonight are with those two West Virginian National Guard and their families.” Trump said the individual responsible would face consequences. This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year He also said the Department of Homeland Security believes the suspect was brought into the country during the 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan. “He was flown in by the Biden administration in September 2021,” Trump said. “Nobody knew who was coming in. Nobody knew anything about it. His status was extended by legislation that was signed by President Biden. A disastrous president the worst in the history of our country.” Trump called for vetting of individuals brought from Afghanistan during that time. Federal agencies have not yet released additional information about the suspect’s immigration status beyond acknowledging an active investigation. Breitbart News reported that three people were shot on Wednesday afternoon, leading to a temporary lockdown at the White House. WJLA reported that the alleged shooter was taken into custody. The Associated Press reported that the conditions of the injured Guardsmen were not yet known. The Joint DC Task Force confirmed that the shooting occurred “in the vicinity of the White House.” The New York Times reported that the incident took place near the entrance to the Farragut West Metro Station. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the act “cowardly” and said it will “only stiffen our resolve to ensure that we make Washington D. C. safe and beautiful.”.
https://www.lifezette.com/2025/11/trump-addresses-nation-after-national-guardsman-ambushed-by-afghan-national-in-dc-watch/
Trump says lax migration policies are top national security threat after National Guard members shot
WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Wednesday’s “heinous assault” on two National Guard members near the White House proves that lax migration policies are “the single greatest national security threat facing our nation.” “No country can tolerate such a risk to our very survival,” he said. Trump’s remarks, released in a video on social media, underscores his intention to reshape the country’s immigration system and increase scrutiny of migrants who are already here. With aggressive deportation efforts already underway, his response to the shooting showed that his focus will not waver. The suspect in the shooting is believed to be an Afghan national, according to Trump and two law enforcement officials. He entered the United States in September 2021, after the chaotic collapse of the government in Kabul, when Americans were frantically evacuating people as the Taliban took control. The 29-year-old suspect was part of Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era program that resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U. S. withdrawal from the country, officials said. The initiative brought roughly 76, 000 Afghans to the United States, many of whom had worked alongside American troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and his allies, congressional Republicans and some government watchdogs over gaps in the vetting process and the speed of admissions, even as advocates say it offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals. Trump described Afghanistan as “a hellhole on earth,” and he said his administration would review everyone who entered from the country under President Joe Biden a measure his administration had already been planning before the incident. During his remarks, Trump also swung his focus to Minnesota, where he complained about “hundreds of thousands of Somalians” who are “ripping apart that once-great state.” Minnesota has the country’s largest Somali community, roughly 87, 000 people. Many came as refugees over the years. The reference to immigrants with no connection to Wednesday’s developments was a reminder of the scope of Trump’s ambitions to rein in migration. Administration officials have been ramping up deportations of people in the country illegally, as well as clamping down on refugee admissions. The focus has involved the realignment of resources at federal agencies, stirring concern about potentially undermining other law enforcement priorities. However, Trump’s remarks were a signal that scrutiny of migrants and the nation’s borders will only increase. He said he wants to remove anyone “who does not belong here or does not add benefit to our country.” “If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” Trump added. Afterward, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it would indefinitely stop processing all immigration requests for Afghan nationals pending a review of security and vetting protocols. Supporters of Afghan evacuees said they feared that people who escaped danger from the Taliban would now face renewed suspicion and scrutiny. “I don’t want people to leverage this tragedy into a political ploy,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac. He said Wednesday’s shooting should not shed a negative light on the tens of thousands of Afghan nationals who have gone through the various legal pathways to resettling in the U. S. and those who await in the pipeline. Under Operation Allies Welcome, tens of thousands of Afghans were first brought to U. S. military bases around the country, where they completed immigration processing and medical evaluations before settling into the country. Four years later, there are still scores of Afghans who were evacuated at transit points in the Middle East and Europe as part of the program. Those in countries like Qatar and Albania, who have undergone the rigorous process, have been left in limbo since Trump entered his second term and paused the program as part of his series of executive actions cracking down on immigration. Vice President JD Vance, writing on social media, criticized Biden for “opening the floodgate to unvetted Afghan refugees,” adding that “they shouldn’t have been in our country.” “Already some voices in corporate media chirp that our immigration policies are too harsh,” he said. “Tonight is a reminder of why they’re wrong.” ___ Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
https://mymotherlode.com/news/national/us-government/10235992/trump-says-lax-migration-policies-are-top-national-security-threat-after-national-guard-members-shot.html
Why is UA enrollment down?
Boasting palm trees, year-round desert heat and world-class research initiatives, the University of Arizona has been sought out by out-of-state, in-state and international students alike. However, the UA has witnessed a significant decrease in enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year due to a variety of factors. In 2024, UA said there were 56, 544 students, with 45, 025 being undergraduates and 11, 519 being graduate students. “Total enrollment is 54, 384, including 43, 294 undergraduates and 11, 090 graduate students,” the UA said in a statement this year. Each category experienced a noticeable decline. International students under the Trump Administration Universities across the country have faced a decrease in enrollment, largely due to the lack of international students coming to the United States under the Trump Administration. “Arizona International enrollment declined slightly to about 3, 309 students following a challenging year for students unable to obtain U. S. visas,” the UA said in this year’s fall census. President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders, such as Executive Order No. 14161 titled Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats. This order has significantly expanded the screening and vetting process that international students have to undergo to study in the US. Many students now struggle to obtain student visas, as the administration is delaying and reworking the interview process. Additionally, students have difficulty obtaining appointments at embassies and consulates. Following E. O. 14161, Trump issued a presidential proclamation restricting and limiting the entry of people from 12 countries and partially restricting the entry of people from seven more nations. Additionally, the administration is working to crack down on the duration of these visas, strictly limiting them to 4 years. This requires students to reapply for new visas in order to complete longer programs and comes with yet another wave of uncertainty. Along with the obstacles of simply obtaining a student visa, many international students are discouraged from coming to the United States with the growing risks of deportation even after arrival. This is in light of reports of many students and faculty across the country having their visas revoked for minor offenses. UA budgetary concerns International students and out-of-state students attending UA and other institutions often pay full or increased tuition. Therefore, this lack of international enrollment may contribute to increased budgetary issues for the UA and other universities across the country. It was recently announced that UA’s budget was officially balanced after experiencing a $177 million deficit in 2023. The process of balancing this budget significantly impacted the amount of merit-based aid that was offered to out-of-state students in this past admissions cycle. “Arizona residents make up 62. 5% of the first-year class, up from 52. 7% in 2024,” UA enrollment said in this year’s census. In 2023, UA’s financial action plan also outlined actions implemented in order to address the shortfall, one of these actions being to “rebalance undergraduate non-resident merit aid for new students and eliminate the tuition guarantee in fall 2025 for new students.” New admissions process “The first-year class includes 7, 506 students, returning to traditional enrollment levels after record cohorts between 2022 and 2024,” UA enrollment said this fall. The UA’s record-breaking class was made up of 9, 314 first-year students in 2024, with 52. 7% being in-state, 44% being out-of-state and 3. 3% being international students. The university reported it will not have a rolling admissions process for the upcoming 2025-2026 admissions cycle. This is the first year the university has not practiced rolling admissions and this could potentially impact the coming enrollment trends. UA’s new Early Action admission deadline encourages prospective students to apply before Nov. 1 to be considered for priority admission, merit-based scholarships and admission to W. A. Franke Honors College.
https://wildcat.arizona.edu/162941/news/why-is-ua-enrollment-down/