Trump Threatens to Send ICE Agents to Airports Over Funding Dispute

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened this Saturday to hand over airport security controls to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents if Democrats do not approve funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). TSA officials have not been paid since February precisely due to the Democratic boycott of the president's aggressive immigration policy. "If the radical left Democrats do not immediately sign an agreement for our country, particularly our airports, to be free and safe again, I will move our brilliant and patriot ICE agents to the airports," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. In a second social media post, the New York businessman assured that he has already instructed the Immigration and Customs Service to appear at airports next Monday. "I eagerly await ICE's arrival on Monday, and I have already told them: 'Get ready!'" he wrote. Why doesn't TSA have funding? The Republican's remarks come a day after the Senate rejected, for the fifth time since February, funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which has been in a partial shutdown for five weeks and oversees the TSA and immigration agencies. The suspension of TSA workers' pay has led many to resign or quit, causing extremely long lines at major U.S. airports such as Atlanta, New York's JFK, or New Orleans. At the initiative of the Democratic minority, the Senate plans to vote today on a motion that would only fund the TSA and allow it to reopen, while keeping the rest of the Department of Homeland Security's non-essential operations suspended. The Democrats' refusal to fund the Department of Homeland Security originated after two citizens of Minneapolis died in February from shots fired by federal agents during the massive immigration raids activated by the Trump Government in the state of Minnesota, with a special focus on the Somali community, which Trump accuses of being behind a massive public funds fraud. Trump wants to send ICE agents to EU airports The president assured in his message today that ICE will implement "unprecedented security measures" in the airports, "including the immediate arrest of all illegal immigrants who have entered our country, with special emphasis on those from Somalia, who, with the approval of a corrupt governor, attorney general, and congresswoman, such as Ilhan Omar, have completely destroyed the once great state of Minnesota." Despite the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, the record funding granted to ICE and other immigration agencies by the Trump Government from a 2025 budget and tax cut law allows these entities to operate smoothly. "I eagerly look forward to seeing ICE in action at our airports," Trump's text concludes.