President Donald Trump said Saturday he will deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports on Monday if an agreement isn’t reached to fund the Department of Homeland Security amid a partial government shutdown.Related video above: Questions about flying during the partial government shutdown”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 wrote on Truth Social Saturday afternoon. “I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, ‘GET READY.’ NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!”It is unclear what function the ICE agents would perform since they’re not trained in airport security screening. TSA screeners have a several-months-long training period before they’re on the job, though airline employees and private security companies have partnered on line controlling and guarding exit doors.The agents could potentially help in more limited roles — like managing lines, directing passengers, or helping move people through the checkpoint process — to free up trained TSA officers for critical security functions.CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for more information.The threat comes as a weekslong stalemate over DHS funding has led to disruptions at airports across the country, with Transportation Security Administration workers going without pay, and staffing shortages contributing to delays. Lawmakers from both parties have been working to reach an agreement to reopen the department, but a resolution remains uncertain.Trump suggested in an earlier Truth Social post on Saturday that the ICE agents would “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.”CNN’s Aaron Cooper contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump said Saturday he will deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports on Monday if an agreement isn’t reached to fund the Department of Homeland Security amid a partial government shutdown.
Related video above: Questions about flying during the partial government shutdown
Advertisement
“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 wrote on Truth Social Saturday afternoon. “I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, ‘GET READY.’ NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!”
It is unclear what function the ICE agents would perform since they’re not trained in airport security screening. TSA screeners have a several-months-long training period before they’re on the job, though airline employees and private security companies have partnered on line controlling and guarding exit doors.
The agents could potentially help in more limited roles — like managing lines, directing passengers, or helping move people through the checkpoint process — to free up trained TSA officers for critical security functions.
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for more information.
The threat comes as a weekslong stalemate over DHS funding has led to disruptions at airports across the country, with Transportation Security Administration workers going without pay, and staffing shortages contributing to delays. Lawmakers from both parties have been working to reach an agreement to reopen the department, but a resolution remains uncertain.
Trump suggested in an earlier Truth Social post on Saturday that the ICE agents would “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.”
CNN’s Aaron Cooper contributed to this report.
