On Saturday, President Donald Trump threatened to dispatch federal immigration agents to U.S. airports unless congressional Democrats promptly agree to finance the Department of Homeland Security.
“I will deploy our exceptional and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will provide Security like no one has ever witnessed before,” Trump posted in a Truth Social post. The Trump administration has encountered significant backlash for its aggressive deportation policies executed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents.
Trump asserted that ICE agents overseeing airport security would detain immigrants illegally present in the U.S., with a focus on those from Somalia.
In another post later that day, Trump mentioned his intention to station ICE agents at airports starting Monday, instructing them to “GET READY.”
“I am eager to deploy ICE on Monday and have already advised them to, ‘GET READY.’ NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!” he declared.
The White House directed inquiries for comments to Trump’s social media, and DHS did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests.
A bipartisan group of senators met with DHS border czar Tom Homan on Friday evening to deliberate on extra immigration enforcement concessions put forth by the White House to resolve the ongoing partial government shutdown, as reported by POLITICO, citing lawmakers present.
The Senate is currently in session on Saturday and Sunday, addressing other legislative matters, yet it remains uncertain if further discussions or a vote on the new DHS funding plan will occur.
Democrats are insisting on alterations to the operational procedures of federal immigration enforcement in exchange for unlocking the funding. The White House and Democrats have been negotiating proposals for over a month without reaching a consensus.
The DHS shutdown has been considerably less disruptive than the unprecedented government shutdown experienced last year. However, since a large portion of DHS operations are deemed essential, staff are mandated to work without pay.
The ramifications of the funding interruption and payroll delays are observable at U.S. airports, where Transportation Security Administration agents are resigning or calling in sick. DHS personnel missed their initial full paychecks last week.
The agent shortage has led to excessively long lines at security checkpoints, particularly in Atlanta and Houston, during the spring break travel boom.
“If a resolution is not achieved, you’re going to see today’s situation appear as child’s play,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy informed CNN on Friday. Earlier that week, Duffy cautioned that smaller airports may face full closure soon due to staffing shortages.
In another post earlier that day, Tesla CEO and former Trump advisor Elon Musk expressed his desire to cover the salaries of TSA officers amid the ongoing shutdown.
“I would like to propose to cover the wages of TSA workers during this funding stalemate that is adversely impacting the lives of numerous Americans at airports nationwide,” Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, stated in a post on X.
Musk did not immediately provide a response to a request for comment.
According to a recent Associated Press report, the average income for TSA agents ranges from about $46,000 to $55,000.
The logistics of such an offer remain unclear.
Last year, Trump disclosed that a wealthy, unnamed contributor had supplied $130 million to assist with military pay shortages caused by the administration’s previous government shutdown, the longest on record. That anonymous donor was later identified as Timothy Mellon, a descendant of a prominent Gilded Age banking family, as reported by The New York Times.
However, Mellon’s contribution equated to merely about $100 per service member. Paying U.S. troops every two weeks costs roughly $6.4 billion. Moreover, such donations may have conflicted with the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from utilizing funds that haven’t been appropriated by Congress, according to the Times.
— Annie Nova and Dan Mangan contributed reporting
