US President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide airport security if lawmakers fail to reach a funding agreement for the Department of Homeland Security.
“I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday, warning that the move could take effect within days.
The Department of Homeland Security has remained unfunded since mid-February after Congress failed to agree on a spending bill, leaving standard airport security operations under strain. A proposed measure to fund the department and ensure payment for Transportation Security Administration personnel failed to advance in the Senate on Friday.
The administration has blamed Democrats for the impasse, accusing them of withholding support unless reforms are made to ICE, which operates under DHS. The deadlock has forced thousands of TSA workers to continue working without pay for over a month.
More than 300 TSA employees have reportedly resigned during the period, while unscheduled absences have surged, according to US media reports. The situation has led to long queues at airports nationwide, with union officials warning of worsening staffing shortages.
Johnny Jones, a Dallas-based official with the government workers’ union American Federation of Government Employees, described the growing hardship among staff.
“Numerous employees have reported to me that their bank accounts are at zero or negative,” Jones told USA Today, adding, “No funds for daycare, no funds for food. They just want to know why the hell they can’t get paid when we have money to shoot missiles into other countries.”
Some airports have begun collecting food parcels and gift cards for affected workers, while others report employees taking second jobs to cope with the financial strain.
ICE has remained central to Trump’s intensified immigration enforcement drive, carrying out thousands of arrests since his return to office in January 2025. However, its operations have drawn sustained criticism from Democrats, civil liberties groups, and advocacy organisations.
Trump said ICE deployment to airports would begin on Monday if Democrats fail to approve what he described as “just and proper security” measures across the country.
Despite operating under DHS, ICE has not been significantly affected by the funding lapse, as Congress had previously approved separate funding for the agency. However, ICE agents are not specifically trained to handle airport security functions.
Democrats have continued to push for sweeping reforms to ICE following the deaths of two Minneapolis residents, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were killed by federal agents during protests against immigration raids in Minnesota in January.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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