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President Trump announced Sunday that he would deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the nation’s airports beginning Monday, escalating a standoff with Senate Democrats over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed the deployment after saying Trump called him Sunday morning and told him he had run out of patience. Homan said ICE agents would handle duties that do not require specialized TSA training — such as guarding exit lanes and checking identification — freeing TSA officers to focus on X-ray screening and other security work.
The move comes as the government shutdown has taken a severe toll on the Transportation Security Administration. Close to 400 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, and some airports are operating with 30% to 40% of their staff missing on any given day. Travelers at major airports have faced waits of two to three hours, with spring break compounding the strain. TSA agents are set to miss another paycheck at the end of the week if the funding impasse is not resolved.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the ICE deployment a tool of “last resort,” blaming Democrats for refusing to fund DHS and rebuffing White House offers on a funding agreement. The White House sent its latest counteroffer to Democrats on Friday evening but had not received a response as of Sunday afternoon.
Sen. Susan Collins, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said Democrats canceled a Saturday night meeting without submitting a counteroffer.
Democrats have conditioned their support for DHS funding on policy changes to immigration enforcement, including requiring agents to stop wearing masks, avoid sensitive locations such as schools and hospitals, and obtain judicial warrants for arrests on private property. They have also demanded independent investigations into the deaths of two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer called the ICE airport deployment “disturbing” and said untrained agents at checkpoints would worsen chaos rather than relieve it. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned that deploying untrained ICE agents could lead to violence. The union representing more than 50,000 TSA officers said putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints “does not fill a gap — it creates one,” and called on Congress to fund TSA immediately.
Thune warned that if a deal is not reached in the coming days, “we’re going to be in a pretty bad place.”
Read more: White House pushes ahead with ICE airport deployment as DHS shutdown talks stall
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