JUST IN: Trump Vows To Deploy ICE For Airport Security If Dems Continue DHS Shutdown

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he will direct Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to perform security duties at U.S. airports if congressional Democrats do not reach an agreement to resolve the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“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 where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before,” the president posted on Truth Social.

He added that agents will also be conducting regular immigration enforcement operations if deployed, “with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia, who have totally destroyed, with the approval of a corrupt Governor, Attorney General, and Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, the once Great State of Minnesota,” Trump continued. “I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our Airports.”

🚨 President Trump proposes deploying ICE agents to airports, emphasizing stricter immigration enforcement and security measures. pic.twitter.com/5GnEA1YytQ

— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) March 21, 2026

The threat follows more than five weeks of a partial DHS shutdown that began on February 14. The shutdown affects non-essential operations within the department, including aspects of TSA screening, while essential national security functions continue with prior-year funds or limited resources.

TSA agents have been forced to work without pay throughout the duration of the shutdown, which has led to more than 400 resignations and thousands of call-outs across the nation’s largest airports. This has led to significant delays at major hubs like Dallas, Denver and Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport.

The funding impasse originated from disagreements in Congress over the DHS appropriations bill. Senate Democrats have repeatedly blocked measures to advance or pass full-year funding, citing the need for additional oversight and reforms to immigration enforcement practices by ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Key demands advanced by Democrats include requirements for judicial warrants in certain operations, a move that would effectively restructure decades of U.S. immigration enforcement policy and effectively halt deportations entirely. Democrats are also demanding prohibitions on agents wearing masks during enforcement actions, expanded independent review of incidents, and stricter limits on activities at sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, churches, and polling places.

The Trump administration and Border Czar Tom Homan have put forward policy changes aimed at addressing some concerns and advancing negotiations. Proposed adjustments include mandatory use and retention of body-worn cameras for oversight purposes, limitations on civil immigration enforcement at designated sensitive sites (with public safety exceptions), requirements for officers to display identification, and additional training protocols.

Despite these proposals and multiple rounds of talks, Democrats have not accepted the offers as sufficient and have voted against proceeding with funding legislation on several occasions, including motions that required 60 votes in the Senate. House-passed funding measures have not advanced in the upper chamber as a result.

This marks the second DHS-related shutdown in 2026 tied to immigration policy negotiations. An earlier, shorter government shutdown occurred in late January and early February over similar issues, which came on the heels of a weeks-long full government shutdown last year.

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