Donald Trump has threatened to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to US airports as TSA lines grow longer and longer while the partial government shutdown rages on.
In a blistering Truth Social post on Saturday morning, the president 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,’ he added.
‘I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our airports.’
KATU reported that there may be legal and logistical barriers to immigration agents taking on traditional airport screening roles.
Wait times to pass security have stretched to more than two hours in some airports around the US after TSA workers’ pay was stopped, causing staffing shortages.
Workers will be forced to continue working without pay until the Senate agrees on terms for reopening the government.
In the meantime, former head of DOGE Elon Musk has offered to pay the salaries of TSA workers during the funding impasse.
Trump threatened to send ICE agents to airports as TSA employees work without pay
Wait times at TSA across the country have reached up to two hours as employees work without pay
‘I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country,’ Musk posted on X this morning.
TSA officers make about $50,000 per year on average, according to The New York Times. Musk, the richest man in the world, is valued at $814.3 billion.
TSA’s acting deputy administrator threatened that airports may have to shut down altogether if the chaos continues.
‘It’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones, if call-out rates go up,’ Adam Stahl said.
A bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security failed to advance Friday in the Senate, meaning Stahl’s prediction could come closer to reality soon.
‘The reality of the situation is this is going to get worse before it gets better, if we don’t see any sort of action,’ Stahl said.
TSA officials have stated that airports may have to shut down altogether amid the lengthy lapse in funding
On the Senate floor, Schumer needs to reopen TSA as quickly as possible — but not under the terms Republicans are offering, which is to fund the entire Homeland Security department.
Democrats are looking to fund TSA while continuing negotiations on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security expired on February 14 after the Senate failed to agree on a new budget. The agency oversees both TSA and ICE.
About 50,000 TSA workers have been working without pay for more than a month. Some can no longer afford to pay their rent, buy gas or food.
At least 366 agents nationwide have quit their jobs, the DHS said.
Staffing shortages were caused by an ongoing partial government shutdown
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the lines are so long that they have spilled beyond screening checkpoints and into the baggage claim area.
Salt Lake City International Airport and Denver International Airport reported wait times of 30 minutes, while Dallas-Fort Worth saw delays of 24 minutes.
Meanwhile, ICE agents are still being paid, reported the American Prospect.
Though department funding was cut, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated $175 billion to immigration and border patrol agencies.
The Daily Mail contacted the Department of Homeland Security for more information.
