President Donald Trump escalated the ongoing funding standoff over the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Saturday, threatening to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to airports if Democrats do not agree to a funding bill.
“If the Radical Left Democrats don’t immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, 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.
The warning follows yet another Senate failure on Friday to advance legislation aimed at ending the DHS funding lapse. Democrats have maintained that counteroffers from the White House, which have included some concessions, remain insufficient to address their concerns.
A key point of contention is ICE enforcement practices. Democrats have pressed for measures to rein in the agency’s tactics, particularly following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during federal deportation operations in Minneapolis last month. Trump referenced the Minnesota crackdown in his Truth Social post, adding that ICE officers would arrest immigrants entering the country illegally, “with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia.”
The Somali community in Minnesota has been a focal point for the administration for months, partly due to a large COVID-19 pandemic-era fraud scandal.
Meanwhile, Democrats have sought to secure separate votes to fund the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other agencies not involved in immigration enforcement. However, Republican senators have repeatedly blocked these efforts.
TSA has become a flashpoint in the funding impasse. Staffing shortages have lengthened wait times at security checkpoints nationwide, affecting travelers and prompting concern among federal employees. DHS reports that some TSA employees, who have already missed one paycheck, are calling out sick or leaving their positions because they cannot afford to work without pay.
Early Saturday morning, billionaire Elon Musk offered to cover the salaries of airport security workers while the shutdown continues, though the mechanics and legality of such a plan remain unclear.
Senate Democrats have indicated they plan to force a vote on a proposal to fully fund TSA. “America will see the matter crystal clear: which Senators WANT to pay TSA workers and end the chaos at our airports, and which Senators are going to BLOCK TSA funding yet again,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Trump doubled down on his criticism of Democrats in a second Truth Social post Saturday, writing, “The Radical Left Democrats have hurt so many people with their vicious and uncaring ways. What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace.”
He added, “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!” The president indicated that ICE agents could be deployed to airports as early as next week.
“I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, ‘GET READY,’” Trump wrote. “NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!”
.jpg)
