US President Donald Trump says he will deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports on Monday to support Transportation Security Administration staff, escalating a standoff that has already strained the nation’s aviation system during a prolonged government shutdown.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said ICE agents would assist “our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job,” repeating a threat he made a day earlier to send ICE to airports if congressional Democrats did not immediately approve funding for airport security. TSA personnel are set to miss their second full paycheck this week as lawmakers remain deadlocked over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both TSA and ICE.
Despite the plan, ICE agents are not trained for airport security a role handled by TSA’s 65,000‑strong workforce, including 50,000 security officers. ICE has been central to Trump’s immigration crackdown, drawing criticism from Democrats, civil liberties groups and immigration advocates.
The shutdown has already taken a toll on airport operations. DHS says more than 10 percent of TSA officers have called in sick on most days over the past week, while more than 400 workers have quit since February 14. Officials warn that resignations and call‑outs are likely to rise as the shutdown drags on.
Trump said the deployment would begin Monday “if the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country.”
The proposal has triggered sharp backlash. Senator Richard Blumenthal called it “another reckless, lawless threat to misuse ICE agents,” arguing that Americans would be “appalled” to see ICE patrolling airports. Representative Bennie Thompson accused Trump of “manufacturing chaos at airports for political leverage,” warning that placing ICE at checkpoints would bring a “tool of fascism” into public travel spaces.
Adding to the political drama, Elon Musk offered on Saturday to cover TSA paychecks “during this funding impasse,” though DHS, TSA and Musk’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Former DHS official Stewart Baker noted that the department has historically shifted personnel during staffing emergencies, but warned that keeping TSA running without pay creates “serious trouble.” Using ICE agents, he said, “may be slower than using trained people, but it would be better than having nobody.”
ICE and Customs and Border Protection have been deployed repeatedly in recent months as part of Trump’s immigration enforcement push, including a recent operation in Minnesota that resulted in agents fatally shooting American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti an incident that has intensified scrutiny of the administration’s tactics.
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