U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he steps from Air Force One upon his arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump threatened "grossly incompetent" Democrats in Congress on Saturday that he is ready to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports across the country after talks to reopen the Department of Homeland Security fell through.
DHS has been partially shut down for more than a month, meaning some employees, including those in the Transportation Security Administration, haven't been paid. In turn, security lines at airports have become a matter of public concern. Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier on Saturday that he would send ICE agents to conduct security checks while negotiations continued.
Trump upped the ante on Saturday evening in another post on Truth Social.
"The Democrats want to give our Country away to the illegals who they allowed to pour through our now very strong Border. I won’t allow that to happen. The Democrats are grossly incompetent! ICE is ready to go on Monday. President DONALD J. TRUMP," he wrote.
The post was made at a time when negotiations to reopen part of DHS seemed to have stalled out. The Hill reported that Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, was scheduled to meet with some lawmakers on Saturday night, but the meeting was cancelled.