President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in airports if Democrats continue holding up funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “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, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia, who have totally destroyed, with the approval of a corrupt Governor, Attorney General, and Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, the once Great State of Minnesota.”
The partial DHS shutdown has entered its 36th day and many TSA workers are currently working without pay. Major airports have struggled with delays as other TSA agents aren’t showing up for work. Travelers are facing long security lines and other problems.
🚨 Travelers are encountering massive security lines at Newark International Airport and other airports across the country, due to the Dems shutdown.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 16, 2026
pic.twitter.com/lQN9urrMjx
Trump’s objective seems clear: He wants the public to connect the chaos at airports, missed flights, and long lines to the Democrats’ refusal to approve funding for DHS.
Republicans and Democrats are locking horns over DHS funding, with Democrats insisting on including reforms to ICE and Border Patrol in the funding bill. Republicans pushed back, arguing that these matters should be taken up separate from funding. Democrats have also suggested passing a measure that only funds TSA while they resolve their differences over DHS funding.
BREAKING🚨: President Trump just dropped the hammer on Democrats amid the DHS shutdown chaos!
— Officer Lew (@officer_Lew) March 21, 2026
"If Radical Left Democrats don’t IMMEDIATELY reopen DHS and end the airport nightmare, I’ll surge our brilliant, patriotic ICE agents to airports nationwide to handle security—better… pic.twitter.com/aptzBzFPTZ
The White House recently indicated it would be willing to certain concessions regarding how ICE and Border Patrol carries out its immigration enforcement operations. The Democrats rebuffed the offer, further prolonging the impasse.
If Trump follows through on his threat, it would draw even more attention to the issue. The visibility of ICE agents at airports would certainly attract the spotlight and tons of media attention — even if it’s not quite clear how they will handle screening duties that TSA agents are trained for.
Trump appears to be wagering that if Democrats continue refusing to play ball, the sight of ICE agents at airports might show that the standoff is the Democrats’ fault.