Trump threatens to delot ICE will handle airport security

US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to send federal immigration agents to US airports unless congressional Democrats immediately agree to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

“I will move our smart and patriotic ICE Agents into Airports where they will provide security like no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote in a message. Real Social post. The Trump administration has faced heavy criticism for aggressive deportation tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents.

Trump claimed that ICE agents responsible for airport security would detain immigrants who are in the United States illegally, specifically targeting people from Somalia.

Separately to post Later in the day, Trump said he planned to move ICE agents into airports starting Monday and told them to “GET PREPARED.”

“I’m looking forward to moving ICE on Monday and I’ve already told them ‘GET READY.’ NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMING!” he wrote.

The White House and DHS did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

A bipartisan group of senators met last night with DHS border czar Tom Homan to discuss additional concessions Friday from the White House on immigration enforcement to end the shutdown. POLITICO reportedreferring to the MPs who attended.

The Senate is in session Saturday and Sunday and is working on other legislative issues, but it is unclear whether there will be further debate or a vote on the new DHS funding proposal.

The DHS shutdown was less disruptive than last year’s record-long government shutdown. But because much of DHS is deemed essential, employees are required to work without pay.

The effects of funding cuts and pay shortages are being felt at U.S. airports, where Transportation Security Administration officials have resigned or called in sick. DHS workers missed their first paycheck last week. The agent shortage has resulted in obscenely long lines at security checkpoints.

In a separate post earlier in the day, Tesla’s CEO and former Trump advisor Elon Musk said he wants to cover TSA officers’ paychecks while the shutdown continues.

“I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of many Americans at airports across the country,” Musk, the world’s richest man, said. Publish on X. The average salary for TSA agents ranges from approximately $46,000 to $55,000, according to a recent report from the Associated Press.

It’s unclear how such a proposal would work.

Last year, Trump announced that an unnamed wealthy donor was providing $130 million to help close military pay gaps caused by the administration’s first government shutdown, the longest in history. This mysterious donor turned out to be Timothy Mellon, heir to the famous Gilded Age banking family. The New York Times later reported.

But Mellon’s donation was only around $100 per soldier. It costs approximately $6.4 billion to pay US soldiers every two weeks. And such a donation, Anti-Deficiency Law, This prohibits federal agencies from spending funds not appropriated by Congress, the Times reported.

— Annie Nova and Dan Mangan contributed reporting