3 hours ago
In a pair of social media posts, Trump first threatened and then said he'd made plans to put officers from U.S. ICE agents in airports starting Monday.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he will send federal immigration officers to airports across the nation to aid in airport security starting Monday unless Democrats agree to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
In a pair of social media posts on Saturday, Trump first threatened and then said he had made plans to place officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in airports.
TSA officers haven't gotten a paycheck since the U.S. Department of Homeland Security partly shut down on Feb. 14. Democrats balked at funding the agency, while other departments are unaffected, demanding changes to immigration enforcement by federal agents following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Funding for the department failed to advance in the Senate on Friday after Democrats declined to support a bill. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would offer an alternative measure on Saturday to fund only TSA.
The president said ICE agents would bring the administration’s immigration crackdown into the nation’s airports, arresting “all Illegal Immigrants” with a focus on those from Somalia.
“I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, “GET READY.” NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!” Trump wrote.
Trump did not offer additional detail on how ICE would take a role in airport security and what it meant for TSA, which screens passengers and luggage for hazardous items.
The move appears to be a pointed effort to expand the immigration enforcement operations that have become a sticking point for Democrats in Congress.
“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,” Trump said.
Trump wasn't the only one frustrated by the shutdown as Elon Musk pledged on Saturday to pay for TSA agents salaries amid the funding impasse.
"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 said on X.
When will the Department of Homeland Security shutdown end?
On Saturday, in a rare weekend session, the Senate rejected a motion by Democrats to take up legislation to reopen TSA and pay workers who are now going without paychecks. Republicans argue that they need to fund all parts of the DHS, not just certain ones. A bill to fund the Cabinet department failed to advance in the Senate on Friday.
There were signs of progress, though, with the restarting in recent days of stalled talks between Democrats and the White House. On Saturday, Republican and Democratic senators were set to meet for a third consecutive day with White House officials behind closed doors as Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York spoke of “productive conversations.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., urged the bipartisan group to act quickly. He has said repeatedly that Democrats and the White House need to find compromise as lines at airports have grown.
“If that group that’s meeting can’t come up with a solution really quickly, things are going to get worse and worse,” Thune said Saturday.
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