US President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White Home for Florida on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to ship federal immigration brokers to U.S. airports until Congressional Democrats instantly comply with fund the Division of Homeland Safety.
In a put up on Fact Social, President Trump stated, “We are going to ship proficient, patriotic ICE officers to our airports to supply safety like nobody has ever seen.” The Trump administration has come beneath heavy criticism for aggressive deportation ways by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol brokers.
President Trump has claimed that ICE brokers guarding airports will arrest immigrants who’re in the USA illegally, particularly these from Somalia.
In one other put up later that day, President Trump stated he deliberate to have ICE brokers at airports as early as Monday, telling them to “prepare.”
“We’re trying ahead to ICE transferring in on Monday and have already informed them to ‘prepare.’ No extra ready, no extra video games!” he wrote.
When requested for remark, the White Home referred to President Trump’s social media. DHS didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s request for remark.
A bipartisan group of senators met with Homeland Safety Border Secretary Tom Homan final night time to debate extra immigration enforcement concessions made by the White Home on Friday to finish the partial authorities shutdown, Politico reported, citing lawmakers in attendance.
The Senate is in session Saturday and Sunday to deal with different legislative points, but it surely’s unclear whether or not there will probably be additional dialogue or votes on the brand new DHS funding proposal.
In trade for defunding, Democrats are demanding adjustments to how federal immigration enforcement operates. The White Home and Democrats have been buying and selling proposals for greater than a month, however no deal has but been reached.
The DHS shutdown was much less disruptive than final yr’s record-length authorities shutdown. Nevertheless, a lot of DHS is taken into account important, which requires workers to work with out pay.
The results of funding lapses and pay shortfalls are being felt at U.S. airports, with Transportation Safety Administration workers quitting or calling out sick. DHS workers didn’t obtain their first full paycheck final week.
Vacationers wait in lengthy safety strains at Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport on a busy weekend March 21, 2026, as Transportation Safety Administration brokers work unpaid shifts. Staffing issues and elevated passenger numbers have led to longer wait occasions, with some vacationers reporting delays of greater than an hour.
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Employees shortages have led to unusually lengthy strains at safety checkpoints, together with in Atlanta and Houston, the place spring break journey is in full swing.
“If we do not get a deal carried out, what’s occurring right now will appear like kid’s play,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy informed CNN on Friday. Mr Duffy warned earlier this week that small airports may quickly shut utterly resulting from staffing constraints.
In a separate article from the day prior to this, tesla CEO and former Trump adviser Elon Musk stated he needs to cowl the salaries of TSA staff throughout the shutdown.
“At a time when this monetary disaster is negatively impacting the lives of many People at airports throughout the nation, I wish to provide to pay the salaries of TSA workers,” Musk, the world’s richest man, stated in a put up on X.
Musk didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The typical wage for TSA brokers is about $46,000 to $55,000, in accordance with a current Related Press report.
It’s unclear how such a proposal would work.
Final yr, President Trump introduced that an nameless rich donor offered $130 million to cowl army pay shortfalls brought on by the primary and longest authorities shutdown in historical past. The mysterious donor was later revealed to be Timothy Mellon, inheritor to a well-known Gilded Age banking household, The New York Instances later reported.
However Mr. Mellon’s donation quantities to solely about $100 per army member. It prices almost $6.4 billion to pay the U.S. army each two weeks. And such donations might have violated the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prohibits federal businesses from spending funds not appropriated by Congress, the Instances reported.
— Annie Nova and Dan Mangan contributed reporting
