Elon Musk offers to pay salaries of US airport security workers

Summary

• Elon Musk offered to pay US airport security (TSA) salaries amid a funding dispute causing unpaid work and staff shortages.
• The TSA, with 65,000 employees, faces increased absences and resignations due to unpaid work since mid-February.
• Democrats oppose funding DHS due to concerns over ICE's immigration raids, seeking reforms like warrant requirements.

NEW YORK - Tech tycoon Elon Musk offered on March 21 to pay security personnel at US airports during a political standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The lapse in funding has led to longer-than-usual lines at airport security checks, where employees of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) have been working without pay since mid-February.

“I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country,” Mr Musk posted on X.

The TSA, which operates under the authority of DHS, comprises about 65,000 employees, according to its website. Various estimates put its annual payroll at somewhere between US$2.5 billion (S$3.21 billion) and US$3 billion.

Democrats in Congress oppose any new funding for DHS until changes are implemented to how another agency under its remit, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducts immigration enforcement raids.

More than 300 TSA employees have already left the agency since the shutdown began on Feb 14, according to the DHS, while US media reported unscheduled absences had more than doubled.

Some officers are taking on second jobs or relying on donations, union officials say, while several major airports are collecting gift cards and stocking food pantries for TSA staff struggling without pay.

Before approving funding for DHS, Democratic lawmakers have demanded curtailed patrols, a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks and a requirement that they obtain a judicial warrant before entering private property.

After the killing of two American citizens protesting aggressive ICE raids in Minneapolis in January, Mr Trump fired homeland security chief Kristi Noem, but the immigration enforcement agency remains deeply unpopular for many Americans. AFP