US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to deploy federal immigration agents to airports as the partial government shutdown that began on February 14 showed no signs of ending.
“I will move our great and patriotic ICE Agents to the airport to do security like no one has ever seen,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“He will arrest illegal immigrants”
According to Trump, ICE agents will be deployed to immediately “arrest all illegal immigrants who have come into our country, with a strong emphasis on those from Somalia who have totally destroyed, with the connivance of the corrupt governor, attorney general and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, the once great state of Minnesota.”
TSA employees will not be paid
Trump’s post comes as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers miss a second full payday on March 27 amid a partial government shutdown now in its 36th day.
Democrats in Congress have refused to approve funding bills for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the TSA’s parent agency.
The extended shutdown has forced many TSA officers to seek alternative sources of income, including gig jobs such as delivering for Amazon and driving Uber cabs to put food on their desks.
Musk offers to pay TSA employees
Earlier in the day, Tesla CEO Elon Musk offered to cover the salaries of TSA employees during the ongoing dispute over government funding.
“I would like to offer to pay the wages of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively impacting the lives of so many Americans at airports across the country,” Musk said in the X post.
Can Trump deploy ICE at airports?
The lack of security agents has also led to travel disruptions at major airports.
Although Trump has threatened to deploy ICE agents to US airports, it is unclear whether he would follow through.
In the past, ICE agents have been deployed to U.S. airports to make arrests through a partnership with the TSA and target individuals with deportation orders.
ICE on the back foot over Minneapolis shooting
Trump’s threat to deploy ICE agents to airports comes as the federal law enforcement agency is under fire for its crackdown on immigrants across the US in the past few months.
The January murders of two American citizens, Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis turned public sentiment against ICE across the US.
Under mounting pressure, the Trump administration was forced to remove Greg Bovin from the US. A border patrol officer who has become the public face of immigration operations.
Bovino, who was commander-in-chief, was replaced in January by Trump’s border czar Tom Homan.
Earlier this month, Trump was forced to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
