WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - As government funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security remains frozen in Congress, airports are running food drives and accepting donations for security screeners enduring their second stretch without pay in the last six months.

Wait times at major U.S. airports continue as TSA officer callouts mount after employees missed their first full paycheck last week.

Unpaid Transportation Security Administration workers are struggling to stay afloat — and on the job — amid a partial government shutdown that has frustrated travelers inching through security lines that stretch for hours,

More than 300 agents have quit since the partial shutdown began Feb. 14, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

According to union leaders and federal officials, these are among the mounting financial strains that Transportation Security Administration officers face during a government funding lapse — the third in less than six months that has required the people who conduct airport security screenings to work without pay.

Passengers are waiting in long lines at airports across the country because security screeners are going unpaid and not showing up to work. They’re going unpaid because politicians in Washington disagree about immigration policy.

For over a month, Transportation Security Administration employees have been showing up to work at US airports without getting paid.

Transportation Security Officer Deondre White tells Fox News Digital the shutdown is taking a heavy toll on TSA employees, calling the situation “unfair” as agents struggle to keep their families

Excited for spring break but worried about the lines? Five airports give passengers who plan the ability to get a free fast pass through TSA checkpoints. (KUSA)

WASHINGTON — Airports across the country could soon be forced to shut down entirely due to the Democrat-led partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, a top TSA official warned Tuesday.