ICE helps TSA secure U.S. airports as DHS shutdown drags on

With Democrats blocking the funding of the Department of Homeland Security, President Trump said on Monday that ICE had stepped in to help the TSA secure American airports.

by Summer Lane | March 23, 2026

As Congress heads toward a two-week vacation for the Easter holiday, the Department of Homeland Security remains shut down, and TSA lines at U.S. airports remain congested and overrun with weary travelers.

“What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, our fantastic TSA Officers, and, most importantly, the great people of our Country, is an absolute disgrace,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before!”

Across the country, videos have surfaced online of shockingly long security-check lines and slogged, heavy traffic within American airports as TSA officers continue to remain unpaid amid the DHS shutdown – leading to fewer TSA agents onsite and plummeting staffing.

“The Democrats’ reckless DHS shutdown is causing TSA officers to go without pay for the third time in nearly six months,” said Lauren Bis, Acting DHS Assistant Secretary, in an official statement last week. “These political stunts are causing unneeded financial hardship for our TSA officers and their families. Now, 366 TSA officers have left the force. Because of this DHS shutdown, Americans are facing HOURS long waits at airports across the country. Democrats must reopen DHS now.”

Over the weekend, the president said that he was planning on “moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, ‘GET READY.’ NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!”

During a safety task force meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday, President Trump called on lawmakers to vote to fund DHS.

“After the appalling lines and massive disruptions at major airports nationwide last weekend, I am again demanding that Democrats in Congress immediately end their disgraceful shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security and restore the full funding for airport security and the TSA,” he said.

The president said on Monday that “we just put ICE in charge, and they’re helping TSA, the agents, and they’re working together, so far, very well.”

Preceding his remarks in Memphis, President Trump said that while he supported ICE agents being able to wear masks during enforcement operations against hardened criminals, he preferred that these agents remain unmasked while helping at airports.

“I would greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS, when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports, etc. Thank you!” he noted.

According to POLITICO, the current DHS shutdown may soon break a record for the longest funding lapse ever for a federal agency if lawmakers can’t come to an agreement on financially fueling the department before the looming Easter holiday.

It also comes amid the U.S. Senate’s vote to advance Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin’s nomination as the next Secretary of Homeland Security, to replace current Secretary Kristi Noem. His appointment now only needs to be officially confirmed by the Senate.