Trump says he's sending ICE agents to airports Monday amid DHS funding impasse
Trump says he's sending ICE agents to airports Monday amid DHS funding impasse
NICHOLAS KERR and ALLISON PECORINSun, March 22, 2026 at 7:02 PM UTC
2
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he's sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to U.S. airports to assist Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers amid the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.
"On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long ago agreed to with signed and sealed contracts, and all," Trump said in a post on his social media platform.
On Saturday, the president said he was ready to deploy ICE agents if Democrats didn’t "immediately sign an agreement" to end the shutdown.
Yuki Iwamura/AP - PHOTO: Travel Delays
Trump said that operations would include immigration enforcement. It's not currently clear what security roles, exactly, ICE agents will take on in airports.
Transportation Secretary Duffy says ICE agents are trained and can assist TSA at airports
The White House referred ABC News back to the president's post when asked what capacity Americans can expect to see ICE operating in at airports.
Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, said Sunday that he was working with acting ICE Administrator Todd Lyons on plans that would "free up TSA agents for specialized tasks, like passenger and bag screening" and hopes to have final details together by the end of the day.
“We're simply there to help TSA do their job in areas that don't need their specialized expertise, such as, you know, screening through the x-ray machine, not trained on that, we won't do that," Homan told CNN's "State of the Union." "But there are roles we can play to release TSA officers from the non significant role, such as guarding an exit, so they can get back to the scanning machines and move people quicker.”
Trump's statements come after Democrats on Friday blocked legislation to reopen DHS for the fifth time since the partial shutdown began in mid-February.
Democrats have demanded changes to policy surrounding ICE and Customs and Border Protection in exchange for votes to fund all of the department. Republicans, meanwhile, have rejected Democratic efforts to fund other agencies in DHS like the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as he departs for his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he will spend the weekend, March 20, 2026
Thousands of TSA employees have now missed their first full paychecks, and travelers are facing long lines at airports around the country.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted the plan to send ICE agents to airports.
Advertisement
“The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or, in some instances, kill them," Jeffries told CNN's "State of the Union." "We've already seen how ICE conducts itself. These are untrained individuals when it comes to doing the current job that they have for the most part, let alone deploying them in close exposure in highly sensitive situations at airports across the country."
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Sunday appeared to suggest that ICE agents would do more than Homan outlined, saying that ICE could be used to support airport screening.
“They run those same type of security machines at the southern border, right? Packages come through or people come through. They run similar assets,” Duffy said on ABC News' "This Week," adding that “even administratively they'll be helpful.”
“But again, we have ICE agents who are trained and can provide assistance to agents,” Duffy said.
2nd jobs, longer hours, pushed to the brink: TSA workers detail mounting stress as DHS shutdown continues
On Saturday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., also urged Democrats to agree to a funding deal.
"At some point, the Democrats are going to have to take yes for an answer. I know they think this is politically good for them. It is not," Thune said.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has met behind closed doors with Homan throughout the week. The latest meeting concluded late Friday night.
Michael Wyke/AP - PHOTO: Air travelers endure long lines and two-hour wait times at the TSA security check point at Terminal E at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, on March 20, 2026, in Houston.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in speech on the Senate floor on Saturday, urged Republicans to support a Democratic effort to fund TSA while other negotiations continue.
"It is unacceptable for workers and travelers and entire airports to get taken hostage in political games, but that's what the Republicans are doing," Schumer, D-N.Y., said.
"It is unacceptable to say we will only pay TSA workers if it is attached to a bill that funds ICE with no reforms, but that's what the Republicans have been doing. Democrats want to pay TSA workers ASAP, with no strings attached," Schumer added.
ABC News' Lalee Ibssa and Ford McCracken contributed to this report.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
