ICE officers will soon help with airport security unless Democrats end shutdown, Trump says

In a series of social media posts, Trump said he was making plans to send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports if the standoff in Congress continues. After the Senate failed to find a resolution in a rare weekend session, Trump seemed resolute in his plan: “ICE is ready to go on Monday,” he said.

He made the announcement because a partial closure is contributing to long lines through checkpoints at some of the country’s largest airports.

The Republican president said ICE agents would take the administration’s immigration crackdown to the country’s airports, vowing to arrest “all illegal immigrants.”

“I’m looking forward to ICE arriving on Monday and I’ve already told you, ‘GET READY’. NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES! Trump wrote while spending the weekend in Florida.

The measure appears to be a determined effort to expand the type of immigration enforcement that has become a sticking point in Congress. Democrats pledged to oppose DHS funding unless changes were made following the crackdown in Minnesota that led to the shooting deaths of two protesters. Democrats are calling for better identification of federal law enforcement agents, a new code of conduct for those agencies and greater use of warrants, among other measures.

The Minnesota operation was tied in part to fraud allegations involving Somali residents. On Saturday, Trump said ICE officers sent to airports would focus on arresting immigrants from Somalia who are in the United States illegally. Repeating his criticism of the Somalis, he said they “totally destroyed” Minnesota.

“If Democrats do not allow fair and adequate security at our airports and other parts of our country, ICE will do the job much better than ever before,” Trump said.

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Trump’s posts did not offer details about how ICE would take on a role in airport security and what it would mean for the Transportation Security Administration, which screens passengers and luggage for dangerous items.

The vast majority of TSA employees are considered essential and continue to work during the funding period, but do so without pay. Call rates have begun to increase at some airports, and DHS said at least 376 have waived since the partial shutdown began on Feb. 14.

On Saturday, the Senate rejected a motion by Democrats to pass legislation to reopen the TSA and pay workers now going without pay. Republicans argue they need to fund all parts of DHS, not just some. A bill to fund the Cabinet department failed to advance in the Senate on Friday.

However, there were signs of progress with the restart in recent days of stalled talks between Democrats and the White House. On Saturday, Republican and Democratic senators were to meet for the third straight day with White House officials behind closed doors as Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York spoke of “productive conversations.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., urged the bipartisan group to act quickly. He has repeatedly said that Democrats and the White House must reach an agreement as lines at airports increase.

“If the group that’s meeting can’t find a solution very quickly, things are going to get worse and worse,” Thune said Saturday.

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News writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.