Department of Homeland Security

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At One Airport, 40% of TSA Agents Called Out

It's fueling long security lines, portending possible airport closures amid government shutdown

(Newser) - Travelers at several major US airports are facing a new kind of turbulence: The screeners aren't showing up. More than 40% of Transportation Security Administration officers at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport skipped work on Tuesday, with similarly high no-show rates in New Orleans (about 36%) and Atlanta...

Senate Panel Votes 8-7 on Mullin Nomination

Fetterman's vote swung it for DHS nominee

(Newser) - A nominee who publicly called a Senate committee chair a "snake" just cleared that chair's panel. Sen. Markwayne Mullin's nomination to run the Department of Homeland Security squeaked out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on an 8–7 vote Thursday, surviving only because...

Feds Fast-Track Deportation of Boy, 5, and Family

Lawyers appeal expedited removal as Trump officials bypass asylum hearing

(Newser) - The 5-year-old Minneapolis boy whose arrest in a bunny hat drew global attention is again at the center of a high-stakes immigration fight, with his family now facing fast-tracked deportation. Federal officials are moving to expel Liam Conejos Ramos and his relatives to Ecuador by using an "expedited removal"...

Rand Paul Grills Mullin Over 'Anger Issues'

He says Mullin's temperament might make him unfit to lead Homeland Security

(Newser) - Sen. Rand Paul turned a high-profile Homeland Security confirmation hearing into a personal confrontation Wednesday, accusing nominee Markwayne Mullin of celebrating political violence and questioning his fitness to run the department.
  • Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma tapped by President Trump to succeed Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary, faced
...

After Year in ICE Custody, Columbia Protester Is 'Free! I'm Free!'

Leqaa Kordia was never charged, is freed on bond after contested detention

(Newser) - A former Columbia University protester is out of federal immigration custody in Texas after spending more than a year detained without criminal charges. Immigration Judge Tara Naselow-Nahas on Friday ordered the release of 33-year-old Palestinian Leqaa Kordia on $100,000 bond—her third such order for Kordia's release—after...

DHS Pick Mullin Did Very Well Trading Stocks While in Office

Sen. Markwayne Mullin's prolific, well-timed trades get a second look ahead of his confirmation

(Newser) - Sen. Markwayne Mullin's stock picks are drawing fresh scrutiny just as the Oklahoma Republican is up for one of the most powerful jobs in the federal government. The New York Times reports that Mullin has become one of Congress' most active traders, with his portfolio swelling since he arrived...

Trump Urges Unpaid TSA Agents to 'GO TO WORK'

Trump praises unpaid airport screeners, blames Democrats for funding lapse

(Newser) - President Trump is urging airport security officers to keep working without pay amid a shutdown he blames on Democrats, USA Today reports. In a Truth Social post Sunday, the president thanked Transportation Security Administration workers, calling them "great," and singled out Johnny Jones, a Dallas-based TSA officer and...

TSA Workers Miss First Full Paycheck as Shutdown Drags

Missed wages deepen staff shortages, trigger more airport security delays

(Newser) - TSA workers are about to be out a full pay period's compensation, and the political fight behind it shows no sign of breaking. On Friday, airport screeners will miss their first complete paycheck of the latest Homeland Security shutdown, even as they're required to keep manning checkpoints, the...

With TSA Workers Unpaid, Airport Asks Travelers to Help

Thanks, union official says, but the problem remains

(Newser) - Denver's airport is again asking travelers to pack something extra: grocery and gas gift cards for federal workers guarding the gates without being paid. With the Department of Homeland Security still unfunded and TSA officers working through the shutdown, Denver International Airport has launched a donation drive for $10...

Good News for Those With Global Entry
Good News for Those
With Global Entry
Mar 11, 2026 12:05 PM CDT

Good News for Those With Global Entry

Reactivation lets vetted travelers use expedited screening despite DHS shutdown

(Newser) - Travelers enrolled in Global Entry can exhale again. The Trump administration switched the trusted-traveler program back on at 5am Eastern on Wednesday, after halting it in February due to the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which is ongoing. The AP notes DHS officials initially said the program...

Going on Spring Break? Prep for an Airport Wait

War, fuel prices, and TSA staffing issues spur hourslong lines, canceled flights, higher costs

(Newser) - Spring breakers hoping for a smooth escape to warmer climes are instead walking into a travel thicket of long lines, higher prices, and shifting flight maps. A partial government shutdown is leaving TSA officers unpaid and resulting in some checkpoints being badly understaffed, producing hourslong waits at airports nationwide, reports...

DHS Shutdown Blamed for Hourslong TSA Waits

Airports in Houston, New Orleans affected

(Newser) - Travelers complained of long waits Sunday—lasting hours in some cases—at security checkpoints at airports in Houston and New Orleans, which officials blamed on a government shutdown of the US Department of Homeland Security, the AP reports. The estimated wait time at the standard security checkpoint at the William...

DHS Agent's Fatal Shooting of Citizen Was Caught on Video

Texas grand jury declined to support criminal charges in killing

(Newser) - Newly released videos showing the fatal shooting of a US citizen by a federal immigration agent in Texas last year call into question assertions by the Department of Homeland Security that a driver intentionally rammed an agent with his car immediately before he was killed. The videos, some from officer...

For Noem, Ad Campaign May Have Sealed Her Fate
In the End, Noem Done In
by Unending 'Drama'
the rundown
Mar 6, 2026 12:53 PM CST

In the End, Noem Done In by Unending 'Drama'

Her comments about a controversial ad campaign were seen as the 'final straw'

(Newser) - Kristi Noem gave her opponents plenty of ammo to work with, as a Wall Street Journal investigation previously revealed. The New York Times has a further catalog, dealing not only with controversial moves as head of the Department of Homeland Security (including labeling protesters "domestic terrorists") but with...

Senator Seeks Perjury Probe Into Fired DHS Chief Noem

Democrat Richard Blumenthal seeks inquiry into Noem's testimony on adviser Corey Lewandowski

(Newser) - Sen. Richard Blumenthal isn't letting Kristi Noem's firing be the end of the story. The Connecticut Democrat says he'll push for a perjury probe into the now-ousted secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, alleging she lied under oath this week about the power wielded by top adviser...

Trump: Firing Noem 'Wasn't a Hard Choice'

He says he 'wasn't thrilled' about $220M ad campaign

(Newser) - President Trump says Kristi Noem's firing was more about a promotion for someone else than any failures on her part, though he admits that he "wasn't thrilled" about her $220 million ad campaign. In his first public comments since pushing the Homeland Security chief out of the...

Noem Thanks Trump for New 'Shield of the Americas' Role

Democrats welcome DHS chief's departure

(Newser) - Kristi Noem's turbulent run atop the Department of Homeland Security is ending with a reassignment and a replacement drawn from the Senate. President Trump announced Thursday that Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma will take over as DHS secretary, calling him "highly respected," while saying Noem will shift to...

Driver Fleeing Border Patrol Killed in Shootout

Suspect allegedly fired at officers, civilian cars in West Texas

(Newser) - A traffic stop at a West Texas border checkpoint turned deadly Wednesday after a driver sped off and opened fire on pursuing officers, authorities say. Officials identified the man as 33-year-old James Douglas McMillan of Greenfield, Wis., who had pulled into the US Border Patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca but...

Trump Reportedly Considers Firing Kristi Noem

Punchbowl News says president has been making calls after Capitol Hill testimony

(Newser) - Is Kristi Noem's job in jeopardy as head of Homeland Security? Punchbowl News reports that President Trump has been "quietly" calling top Republicans on Capitol Hill to ask if he should fire her. The development comes after Noem spent two grueling days being grilled by the Senate and...

Angry at Noem, GOP Senator Threatens Rare Move

Thom Tillis says he will hold up Senate business unless he gets answers from DHS chief

(Newser) - One of the fiercest critics of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem during her Senate testimony on Tuesday was a fellow Republican: Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Not only did he call her leadership of the department a "disaster," he threatened to hold up the work of the...

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