2:44 PM PT -- The system is back online. They have not determined the cause.
2:30 PM PT -- A source who is an official from Customs and Border Protection tells TMZ, "There is no indication of nefarious activity at this time." That said, CBP still doesn't know why the system failed.
2:23 PM PT -- Law enforcement sources at one of the country's biggest airports tell TMZ, they are "openly talking" about the possibility of a cyber attack, although they have not been briefed by Customs and Border Protection. CBP says it's trying to determine how the system went down, but is offering no answers or theories.
There is chaos at airports across the United States, because the entire U.S. Customs system has failed.
Customs officials haven't figured out what happened, and obviously one thing that comes to mind is a possible cyber attack, although officials haven't said that's even a working theory.
I was finally able to check in for a flight before actually getting to the airport 😂.... & now US Customs systems are down NATION WIDE! Line is crazy & getting crazier. pic.twitter.com/RctYJbEFrF
— Ali Ahmad (@AliAhmad03) August 16, 2019
The lines at major airports, including JFK, LAX and Dulles, are insane. People are being processed manually, and it's taking forever. As planes land, the lines just get bigger.
It appears the entire computer system for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has failed.
It appears the borders are also without computer systems, and again everything that needs to be checked is being done so manually.
An official at LAX says, "Officers are processing passengers manually so please check with your airline for the latest status of any flight impacts."
As of now ... no one from CBP is even speculating on what caused the outage ... all they're saying is they are working on the problem.
Story developing ...
Originally published -- 1:45 PM PT