Donald Trump threatened to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to US airports on Monday if congressional Democrats do not immediately agree to fund airport safety. Transportation Security Administration personnel are set to miss a second full paycheck on 27 March amid a partial government shutdown in its 36th day as lawmakers clash over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency for TSA and ICE. “I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday, in response to the airport staff shortages which have disrupted travel. More than 400 TSA workers have quit since the partial shutdown began on 14 February, DHS said. ICE agents are not specifically trained for airport security, which is TSA’s domain.

Source: The Guardian March 22, 2026 14:05 UTC