President Donald Trump says he will begin sending immigration officers to airports to conduct arrests of illegal immigrants if Democrats don’t reopen the Department of Homeland Security.
The latest threat came in a post on Truth Social on Saturday morning, in which Trump said if Democrats “don’t immediately sign an agreement” to reopen the department he would assign Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to handle airport security. Trump’s comments come as airports face major delays and security concerns due to staffing shortages with the Transportation Security Administration.
“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, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country,” Trump wrote.
The latest ultimatum from Trump comes as negotiations between White House officials and Senate Democrats have ramped up in recent days, with the administration transmitting a written legislative offer on Friday evening. That proposal came just days after Democrats sent their own counteroffer on Monday, which Republicans say did not go far enough to reach a compromise.
However, Trump’s threat to send ICE agents to airports could anger top Democrats working with White House officials to reopen the department. The immigration enforcement agency has been at the center of controversy after federal immigration officials shot and killed two U.S. citizens in separate occasions in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Those deaths prompted Democrats to demand changes to how immigration officers can operate, resulting in the five-week shutdown and dragged-out talks with administration officials.
It’s not clear what the White House included in its written offer. But administration officials shared what concessions they have offered in previous talks, including an expansion of the use of body cameras, with exceptions for undercover operations. The administration also offered to “limit civil immigration enforcement activities at certain sensitive locations” such as hospitals and schools.
Both those proposals were main demands from Democrats.
But Democrats are still pushing for other reforms, such as judicial warrants to carry out arrests — something Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is poised to become the next DHS secretary, has committed to but has not been put in writing.
Senators are expected to meet with White House officials again this weekend, marking the third such meeting in the last week.