Trump says he will send ICE agents to airports if TSA funding stalls
Trump says he will send ICE agents to airports if TSA funding stalls
Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY Sat, March 21, 2026 at 4:51 PM UTC
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President Donald Trump said March 21 that he will order Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to do security at U.S. airports unless Congress strikes an agreement for funding TSA airport security officers "immediately."
Trump said in a social media post that he would have the ICE agents not only providing security at airports, but also arresting people who have entered the U.S. without authorization.
"I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our Airports. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" the president posted.
In the past month, about 50,000 TSA airport security employees have been forced to work without pay, as a result of a partial government shutdown.
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The shutdown began after Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes both TSA and ICE workers, until DHS changed its immigration enforcement policies. Republicans have rejected offers from Democrats to pass funding only for the non-immigration enforcement parts of DHS, including TSA.
Aliya Rahman is carried by federal agents after being pulled from her vehicle following an immigration raid that led to the detainment of two Hispanic youths and multiple observers, days after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 13, 2026.
As the funding lapse drags on, many employees aren't showing up to work. The Trump administration said 10% of TSA workers didn't come to work on Sunday, March 15 – compared to a standard no-show rate of under 2% during normal operations.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he will send ICE agents to airports if TSA funding lags
Source: “AOL Breaking”
