Trump Vows to Deploy ICE Agents to US Airports With 'Heavy Emphasis on Somalia' as Shutdown Chaos Deepens

President Donald Trump escalated his standoff with congressional Democrats on Saturday, threatening to redeploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports across the United States if the partial government shutdown is not brought to an immediate end. The warning came as travel disruption intensified nationwide, with thousands of TSA officers continuing to work without pay and security queues stretching to two hours or more at major hubs.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump issued a blunt ultimatum. 'If the Radical Left Democrats don't immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before,' he wrote. The president added that agents would carry out the 'immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants', with what he described as a 'heavy emphasis on those from Somalia, who have totally destroyed... the once Great State of Minnesota' — a pointed reference to Representative Ilhan Omar and state officials he named directly.

35 Days Without Pay

The threat came as the shutdown entered its 35th day, with roughly 50,000 TSA officers left without paycheques since funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed in February. Thousands have called in sick in recent weeks, and at least 376 have resigned from their posts. The resulting staff shortages have pushed some of the country's busiest airports to their limits.

As of Saturday, FlightAware data showed 2,677 reported flight delays in and out of the US, alongside at least 500 cancellations. Airports in Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans and Philadelphia have been among the hardest hit, with absenteeism rates at some locations surpassing 50 per cent of scheduled staff on certain days. TSA's acting deputy administrator, Adam Stahl, said the situation had placed airports 'on the brink of closure', adding: 'It's not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones, if call-out rates go up.'

Democrats Hold Firm

The political deadlock at the heart of the crisis shows no immediate sign of breaking. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has pushed for a standalone measure to fund TSA specifically, an effort Republicans have so far blocked. Democrats have demanded a broader overhaul of ICE enforcement practices — including requiring judicial warrants before agents enter private homes and banning the use of masks during operations — as conditions for approving any DHS funding bill.

Those demands gained traction following the deaths of two American citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, killed during ICE operations in Minneapolis in January. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said some 'deal space' may be emerging from talks with White House border czar Tom Homan, though negotiations remained unresolved as of Saturday. Both sides have warned the standoff could drag on through Congress' Easter and Passover recess, potentially extending the shutdown by several more weeks.

Separately, Elon Musk offered on Saturday to personally cover the wages of TSA personnel during the impasse. 'I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding standoff that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country,' Musk wrote on X, though no formal arrangement had been confirmed.

Legal and Security Questions

The deployment of ICE agents to airports — even as a threat — marks a significant shift in how the administration is framing the shutdown. Both TSA and ICE operate under DHS, meaning Trump technically has the authority to redeploy personnel within the department. However, legal experts and opposition lawmakers have questioned whether assigning ICE agents to conduct primary airport security screening would survive a court challenge or meet existing aviation security regulations.

Civil rights groups and legal advocates have raised concerns that Trump's explicit focus on Somali travellers would amount to racial profiling. The ACLU filed suit on 16 March, citing evidence that ICE and CBP agents in Minnesota arrested residents 'solely because the agents perceived them to be Somali or Latino', while a federal judge has already ruled that ICE illegally detained people based on racial profiling during Operation Metro Surge in the state. Representative Omar, who is named in Trump's post, has separately written to DHS describing 'overt racial profiling' in her district. With spring break travel underway and no resolution in sight, the pressure on both parties is expected to intensify in the days ahead.