Trump calls airports ‘fertile territory’ for ICE

President Trump on Monday called airports “fertile territory” for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers brought in to aid with security, even as he said that’s “not why they’re there.”

Asked by reporters whether ICE officers would be making immigration arrests at airports, Trump did not rule it out.

“They love it because they’re able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country,” he said. “It’s very fertile territory.”

“But that’s not why they’re there. They’re really there to help.”

ICE officers began to deploy at airports across the country Monday, as security lines have grown because of a shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has halted payments to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers.

The deployments immediately alarmed numerous congressional Democrats.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said ICE would only worsen conditions at airports because officers are not trained to do security, and immigration enforcement would disrupt already chaotic conditions for travelers.

“ICE agents at airports will only aggravate delays & lines—disrupting checks, interrogating travelers, dragging parents from children, detaining citizens, brutalizing families, shooting & even killing,” he wrote on social platform X.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) shared a tip sheet for immigrants traveling through airports.

“If you are planning a trip, there are resources to understand your rights at airports and to make safety plans,” she wrote on X.

ICE officers were sent to at least 13 airports, according to CNN.

Numerous lawmakers pointed to video apparently taken at San Francisco’s airport Sunday night showing a woman placed in handcuffs by two plainclothes men who repeatedly ignored calls from bystanders to display their badges.

The Hill reached out to ICE for comment on the video.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) shared the video, saying it showed the risks of having ICE officers at airports. 

“ICE is not at airports to help TSA and reduce lines. They are there (without identification) trying to arrest people, exactly as I predicted,” he wrote on X.

Republicans, including Trump, said the deployment was designed to make Democrats go “crazy” as the parties are in a standoff over how to fund the DHS.

“That’s why the Democrats are going crazy,” Trump said Monday morning, citing his dispatching of ICE.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) also backed the move as a pressure tactic for negotiations.

“I’m glad the president has put ICE in there for a multitude of reasons. It’ll drive the Democrats crazy,” he said during an appearance Monday on Fox Business Network.

Democrats have previously tried to separate TSA funding from the broader battle over ICE, seeking to fund the airport security agency while discussions continue.

“Deploying untrained ICE agents to conduct airport security is not the solution. Paying our TSA agents is,” Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) wrote on social media.

“Trump & Republicans need to stop blocking funding that would finally pay TSA workers without giving yet another blank check to ICE’s brutal crackdown.”

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