Donald Trump threatened on Saturday to deploy federal immigration agents to US airports on Monday if Democrats do not agree to measures aimed at strengthening security and immigration enforcement.
“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,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Airport security is currently handled by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), while ICE handles immigration enforcement. Both are under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE has been a pillar of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, drawing criticism from Democrats, civil liberties advocates and immigration advocacy groups.
Trump added that ICE “will do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our country” and pointed to a focus on arresting immigrants from Somalia who, he said with no evidence at all “have totally destroyed” Minnesota. Trump has gone on xenophobic rants about Somali immigrants in the past, calling people from Somalia, including Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, “garbage”.
In a subsequent post, Trump said the deployment would begin on Monday “if the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country”.
The remarks come amid political tensions over immigration policy and a broader debate over federal enforcement powers. Trump’s post came hours after Democrats blocked a DHS funding bill – the fifth time since the shutdown of the agency began in mid-February.
On Saturday, the Senate rejected a motion by Democrats to take up legislation to reopen the 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.
Democrats are demanding changes in immigration enforcement operations, including ICE, after an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis led to clashes that resulted in the deaths of two protesters, Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Democrats are asking for better identification for federal law enforcement officers, a new code of conduct for those agencies and more use of judicial warrants, among other measures.
Trump’s threat to put ICE agents at airport security checkpoints comes as a growing number of TSA agents are calling out sick or leaving the agency, many citing financial struggles. TSA workers could miss their second full paycheck next week as Washington lawmakers feud over the resolution to a partial government shutdown.
The DHS has said that at least 366 TSA agents have quit their jobs since the government shutdown began on 14 February.
Placing ICE at airports also comes almost a year after TSA began requiring airline passengers to show federally compliant drivers licenses or passports at security, giving the federal government a clearer idea of air traveler’s immigration status.
However, it’s disputed whether ICE or Customs and Border Protection has statutory authority to pick up non-US citizens within the country without a warrant – including at airports.
The relevant code – USC 1357 – permits arrests without a warrant “within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States, to board and search for aliens any vessel within the territorial waters of the United States and any railway car, aircraft, conveyance, or vehicle, and within a distance of 25 miles from any such external boundary to have access to private lands, but not dwellings, for the purpose of patrolling the border to prevent the illegal entry of aliens into the United States”.
There were signs of progress in the Senate, 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 spoke of “productive conversations”.
Senate majority leader John Thune 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.
