Press ReleaseUrgent2026-03-25

We asked Texas' congressional delegation about TSA wait times. Here's what they said.

ImmigrationEnvironmentInfrastructure

Context

This press release from Representative Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) was published on 2026-03-25 and titled "We asked Texas' congressional delegation about TSA wait times. Here's what they said.". It focuses on immigration and touches on the environment, infrastructure.

Full Text

We asked Texas' congressional delegation about TSA wait times. Here's what they said.

Travelers are waiting hours in massive security lines at some airports, including in Houston, as a partial government shutdown stretches on. Democrats and Republicans have struggled to reach a deal on funding the Department of Homeland Security, an agency that oversees both airport security and President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push. Democrats do not want to fund the agency without a series of changes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including limiting ICE action around schools and churches, stopping ICE agents from wearing masks and requiring agents to use body cameras. Some Republicans have suggested carving ICE out of the budget negotiations (unlike TSA, ICE agents are still being paid) and agreeing to a deal to fund the rest of DHS. Hearst Newspapers reached out to every member of the Texas delegation to ask what they are doing to end the shutdown and whether they support a deal to fund DHS without including ICE. They responded with a lot of finger-pointing. For those who didn't respond, we included any recent public comments. Read their responses below. ... “President Trump and Congressional Republicans are choosing not to fund TSA. People in DHS departments are being paid from funds available. TSA should be, too. This is a deliberate choice to inflict pain on TSA workers and the traveling public. Republicans are in charge in the House, the Senate, and the White House, they can solve this problem. But they are choosing not to. I have joined House Democrats in an effort to bring a bill to fund TSA to the floor, and I will continue to work to end this manufactured crisis.” - Lizzie Fletcher, Democrat, U.S. House Texas District 7, in a statement to Hearst Newspapers View this article in the Houston Chronicle .

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We asked Texas' congressional delegation about TSA wait times. Here's what they said. Travelers are waiting hours in massive security lines at some airports, including in Houston, as a partial government shutdown stretches on. Democrats and Republicans have struggled to reach a deal on funding the Department of Homeland Security, an agency that oversees both airport security and President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push. Democrats do not want to fund the agency without a series of changes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including limiting ICE action around schools and churches, stopping ICE agents from wearing masks and requiring agents to use body cameras. Some Republicans have suggested carving ICE out of the budget negotiations (unlike TSA, ICE agents are still being paid) and agreeing to a deal to fund the rest of DHS. Hearst Newspapers reached out to every member of the Texas delegation to ask what they are doing to end the shutdown and whether they support a deal to fund DHS without including ICE. They responded with a lot of finger-pointing. For those who didn't respond, we included any recent public comments. Read their responses below. ... “President Trump and Congressional Republicans are choosing not to fund TSA. People in DHS departments are being paid from funds available. TSA should be, too. This is a deliberate choice to inflict pain on TSA workers and the traveling public. Republicans are in charge in the House, the Senate, and the White House, they can solve this problem. But they are choosing not to. I have joined House Democrats in an effort to bring a bill to fund TSA to the floor, and I will continue to work to end this manufactured crisis.” - Lizzie Fletcher, Democrat, U.S. House Texas District 7, in a statement to Hearst Newspapers View this article in the Houston Chronicle .