Officials scramble to carry out Trump's directive on ICE agents at airports
President Trump said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will assist TSA agents at airports as delays and security staffing shortages continue to worsen.
Updated on: March 22, 2026 / 9:06 PM EDT / CBS News
Officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been scrambling to carry out a weekend directive from President Trump to have immigration agents provide security at airports amid the partial government shutdown, multiple sources familiar with the internal deliberations told CBS News.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump posted a message on Truth Social suggesting he would deploy ICE agents to airports to conduct security and arrest people in the U.S. illegally, if congressional Democrats did not agree on a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security. DHS oversees immigration agencies like ICE and the Transportation Security Administration. In subsequent posts, Mr. Trump said he would dispatch ICE agents to airports on Monday.
Mr. Trump's directive caught officials at ICE off guard and they have been scrambling to come up with a plan to enforce it, the sources familiar with the matter told CBS News, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
"I have no idea what we're doing," one DHS source said when asked about the president's order.
Lines at security checkpoints in airports across the country have increased in recent days, amid several hundred resignations and sick calls among TSA employees, who have been working without pay due to the partial shutdown.