Pay TSA and Rein in ICE
The people demand progress. People Power United breaks down the DHS shutdown fight and who is actually offering solutions to pay TSA and reform ICE.
End the Shutdown. Pay TSA. Hold ICE Accountable.
Friends, America is in the middle of a crisis of its own making. For over a month, tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration officers have reported to work at airports across the country without receiving a paycheck. Approximately 60,000 TSA officers have gone over a month with partial pay and have begun receiving their first $0 paychecks.1 Meanwhile, flights are delayed, security lines stretch for hours, and the workers holding the line are quietly falling apart — picking up side jobs, living off their spouses’ incomes, and leaving federal service altogether. This is not an abstract policy dispute. It is a human catastrophe unfolding in plain sight, and it demands an immediate solution.
The Department of Homeland Security shutdown is now in its 33rd day. The fight was sparked by the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration officers in January in Minneapolis, where ICE and CBP were conducting operations as part of Trump’s deportation surge. Democrats responded by demanding accountability reforms before agreeing to fund the full department — including requiring body cameras, banning face masks during operations, mandating judicial warrants before home entries, and protecting sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and houses of worship. These are not radical demands. They are the baseline expectations we hold for every other law enforcement agency in the United States.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has made the path forward crystal clear. Democrats introduced a discharge petition to fund the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service through September.2 The underlying bill, introduced by Representative Rosa DeLauro, excludes funding for ICE and CBP until meaningful accountability reforms are enacted.3 This is not obstruction — it is leverage, responsibly applied in service of saving lives.
Democrats have done this before. Leader Jeffries has noted that his caucus has now launched this as their fourth discharge petition effort, having previously succeeded on Epstein files, federal worker collective bargaining rights, and Affordable Care Act tax credits. The Progressive Caucus chair, Representative Greg Casar of Texas, predicted “very broad buy-in” among Democrats, putting the question squarely to Republicans: why are they continuing to withhold TSA paychecks?4 The answer requires only four Republicans willing to cross the aisle and sign — four members choosing country over party.
I would also like to note that People Power United is independent — we champion progress, not parties. But fairness demands we acknowledge that, in this fight, Democrats are offering solutions. We have yet to see a credible Republican proposal that both pays TSA agents and reins in ICE.
TSA callout rates have spiked nationwide, with the highest single-day airport callout rate reaching 55% at Houston Hobby International Airport, and 366 transportation security officers have already left the force. Each one who walks out the door takes four to six months of training investment with them — investment that cannot be replaced overnight. More tax dollars squandered.
The choice before Congress is not complicated. Pay the people keeping our airports safe. Require accountability from the agency brutalizing American communities. These goals are not mutually exclusive — they are morally inseparable. It is time for Republicans to stop holding the American people hostage and sign the discharge petition. Pay TSA. Rein in ICE. Do both. Do it now.
Take Action: Tell Republicans: End the Shutdown by Reforming ICE and CBP
Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait
The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.
🗽Take Action: Tell Republicans: End the Shutdown by Reforming ICE and CBP
🏛️Take action: Tell Congress to pass the War Powers Resolution and stop Trump’s illegal war in Iran
📢 Take action: Submit an official comment rejecting the criminalization of dissent
💸 Take action: This Tax Day, tell Congress to tax the rich and make life more affordable for working people and families
🗳️ Take action: Tell Congress to stop the SAVE America Act and defend the right to vote
🪖 Take action: Tell Congress to stop Trump from sending American troops into Iran and vote no on the draft
🛑 Take Action Now: Tell Congress: Block the $10 billion scam to fund Trump’s Orwellian Board of Peace
🗳️ Bonus action: Register to vote, vote in every election, and help your community do the same. Reproductive freedom is won and lost at the ballot box.
👑 Bonus action: Sign up for the next national No Kings Day of Action and show up in solidarity with everyone whose rights are under attack.
Together, we can champion our rights, freedoms, and democracy, hold our leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.
Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests) Leader, People Power United
People Power United | In this community, we will always speak out against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry!
This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our rights, freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. Millions of Americans are already refusing to back down — in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.
Every movement that was ever won started with people who refused to quit. We are those people.
The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.