Trump Threatens ICE Deployment to Airports Amid Shutdown & Immigration Crackdown
President Donald Trump threatened Saturday to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to U.S. Airports as soon as Monday, escalating a standoff with congressional Democrats over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The move, announced via Trump’s social media account, came on the fifth week of a partial government shutdown impacting DHS.
“I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. He later added, “I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, ‘GET READY.’ NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!”
The dispute centers on funding for DHS, which includes the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and ICE. Democrats have sought to tie funding to changes in the department’s immigration enforcement policies, while Republicans have rejected those conditions. A Democratic effort to pass a stand-alone bill to fund TSA was blocked by Senate Republicans on Saturday in a 41-49 vote, according to reports.
The partial shutdown has left approximately 50,000 TSA employees working without pay for weeks. As of March 17, the TSA reported 366 security officers have resigned, and employee absences have increased, with one airport reporting a 55 percent callout rate on March 14. Industry analysts have warned that these absences could strain remaining security personnel.
Trump’s announcement included a pledge to task ICE agents with “the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia.” This echoes previous rhetoric from the president, who in December described Somali Americans as “garbage” and claimed they “contribute nothing” to the country, specifically criticizing their presence in Minnesota, home to the largest Somali American community in the U.S.
The threat to deploy ICE agents to airports raises questions about their training and suitability for security screening duties, which traditionally fall under the purview of the TSA. Critics have likewise voiced concerns about the potential for militarized actions in civilian spaces.
The White House referred all inquiries to Trump’s social media posts. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Senator Patty Murray, a key Democratic negotiator, accused Republicans of tying TSA funding to ICE funding following the Saturday vote.
Trump has repeatedly stated he will not sign any legislation passed by Congress to resolve the funding impasse, and has accused Democrats of preventing TSA officers from receiving paychecks. He wrote in a post, “If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before!”