President Donald Trump threatens ICE deployment to take over airport security during DHS funding standoff

President Donald Trump escalated the ongoing DHS funding standoff on Saturday by threatening to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to take over airport security operations nationwide.

“United States President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy federal immigration agents to the country’s airports to “do Security like no one has ever seen””

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In a series of Truth Social posts, Trump issued an ultimatum to congressional Democrats, warning that if they did not immediately pass a funding bill, he would move 'brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before.'

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The president specifically directed ICE agents to carry out 'the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country,' with a 'heavy emphasis on those from Somalia.'

Trump further announced that the deployment would commence on Monday, stating 'I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, 'GET READY.' NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!'

This dramatic threat came as the partial government shutdown affecting DHS entered its 36th day, with no immediate resolution in sight.

The current partial government shutdown has created severe operational disruptions at U.S. airports, with approximately 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers working without pay for over five weeks.

The financial strain has become untenable for many workers, union leaders report that officers are receiving eviction notices, struggling to pay utility bills, and taking second jobs to survive.

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According to DHS data, more than 300 TSA employees have resigned since the shutdown began, while absenteeism has skyrocketed to roughly 10% of the workforce on recent days compared to a typical rate of less than 2%.

The result has been a logistical nightmare for travelers, with wait times at checkpoints in major cities like Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans stretching into multiple hours, forcing many passengers to miss flights.

Smaller regional airports face the threat of closure entirely if staffing levels do not improve, and TSA workers are scheduled to miss their second full paycheck on March 27, according to Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl.

The proposal to deploy ICE agents to airport security checkpoints has sparked immediate concern from aviation experts, civil rights advocates, and former officials.

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Unlike TSA officers, who are specifically trained to screen passengers and baggage for hazardous items and explosives, ICE agents are primarily trained for investigations and immigration enforcement.

John Sandweg, a former acting director at ICE during the Obama administration, criticized the move as 'an example of the president seeking to utilize ICE in a way that achieves political goals, almost as a punishment,' noting that 'the operations, to me, don't seem to be designed to focus on public safety.'

The plan would also blur the lines between transportation safety and interior immigration enforcement, particularly given that a 2025 ACLU report revealed the TSA had already begun sharing passenger lists with ICE.

The president's focus on Somali immigrants echoes the rhetoric surrounding 'Operation Metro Surge,' the massive immigration enforcement effort in Minneapolis that resulted in federal agents fatally shooting two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, sparking nationwide protests and legal challenges.

The political standoff remains deadlocked, with Democrats refusing to fund DHS without significant reforms to immigration enforcement practices.

On Friday, a Republican-led bill to fund the DHS failed to advance after Democrats blocked the measure for the fifth time.

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Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has argued that the TSA should be funded through a standalone measure to 'end the chaos' without being tied to the administration's broader immigration enforcement agenda, while Democrats have demanded requirements for ICE agents to obtain warrants before entering homes and a ban on the use of masks by federal agents.

Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have countered that Democrats are not negotiating in good faith regarding immigration enforcement.

The administration has remained firm, recently signaling its intent to overhaul DHS operations by firing Secretary Kristi Noem and placing Thomas Homan in charge of high-profile operations in Minneapolis.

Adding another layer of complexity, billionaire Elon Musk offered to personally pay the salaries of TSA personnel during the impasse, though the legality of a private citizen funding a federal agency's payroll remains highly questionable.