US President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House for Florida on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to send federal immigration agents to U.S. airports unless Congressional Democrats immediately agree to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said, “We will send talented, patriotic ICE officers to our airports to provide security like no one has ever seen.” The Trump administration has come under heavy criticism for aggressive deportation tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents.
President Trump has claimed that ICE agents guarding airports will arrest immigrants who are in the United States illegally, especially those from Somalia.
In another post later that day, President Trump said he planned to have ICE agents at airports as early as Monday, telling them to “get ready.”
“We’re looking forward to ICE moving in on Monday and have already told them to ‘get ready.’ No more waiting, no more games!” he wrote.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
A bipartisan group of senators met with Homeland Security Border Secretary Tom Homan last night to discuss additional immigration enforcement concessions issued by the White House on Friday to end the government shutdown, Politico reported, citing lawmakers in attendance.
The Senate is in session Saturday and Sunday to address other legislative issues, but it’s unclear whether there will be further discussion or votes on the new DHS funding proposal.
The DHS shutdown was less disruptive than last year’s record-length government shutdown. However, much of the DHS is considered essential, requiring employees to work without pay.
The effects of funding lapses and pay shortfalls are being felt at U.S. airports, with Transportation Security Administration employees quitting or calling out sick. DHS employees did not receive their first full paycheck last week.
Staff shortages have led to unusually long lines at security checkpoints, including in Atlanta and Houston, where spring break travel is in full swing.
“If we don’t get a deal done, what’s happening today will look like child’s play,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN on Friday. Mr Duffy warned earlier this week that small airports could soon close completely due to staffing.
In a separate article from the previous day, tesla CEO and former Trump adviser Elon Musk said he wants to cover the salaries of TSA workers during the shutdown.
“During this funding gridlock that is negatively impacting the lives of so many Americans at airports across the country, I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA employees,” Musk, the world’s richest man, said in a post on X. The average salary for TSA agents is about $46,000 to $55,000, according to a recent Associated Press report.
It is unclear how such a proposal would work.
Last year, President Trump announced that an anonymous wealthy donor provided $130 million to cover military pay shortfalls caused by the first and longest government shutdown in history. The mysterious donor was later revealed to be Timothy Mellon, heir to a famous Gilded Age banking family, The New York Times later reported.
But Mr. Mellon’s donation amounts to only about $100 per military member. It costs nearly $6.4 billion to pay the U.S. military every two weeks. And such donations may have violated the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending funds not appropriated by Congress, the Times reported.
— Annie Nova and Dan Mangan contributed reporting
