Partial Shutdown in the United States: Trump Threatens to Send Immigration Police to Airports, Elon Musk Offers to Pay Salaries.

Since February 14, the United States has been facing a partial shutdown of funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) due to a deep disagreement between Democrats and Republicans in Congress. This budget blockage particularly affects security checks at airports, where wait times are lengthening due to unpaid personnel.

In response to this situation, Donald Trump threatened on Saturday to send ICE agents, the immigration police, to ensure security at airports. On his Truth Social network, he called on Democrats to quickly reach an agreement. “If the extreme left Democrats do not immediately sign an agreement for our country, especially our airports, to be free and safe again, I will deploy our brilliant and patriotic ICE agents to airports where they will take security to levels never seen before,” he wrote.

Several Hours of Waiting at Security Checkpoints

Due to this partial shutdown, thousands of federal DHS employees have been furloughed, while thousands of others in essential roles continue to work. In both cases, salaries will not be paid until lawmakers agree on a budget for the DHS, which ICE depends on.

The approximately 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, responsible for checks at airports, have not been fully paid since March 13. As a result, absenteeism has increased among their ranks, with some working elsewhere while waiting for lawmakers to agree, and others resigning.

As a result, wait times at security checkpoints have lengthened, and it is now common to wait several hours at American airports to pass through this checkpoint and reach the boarding area. The immigration police continues to operate during the shutdown, due to funds previously approved by Congress.

TSA had warned that a prolonged shutdown could cause staff shortages with “significant consequences at airports, including delays, longer wait times, and flight cancellations.”

Elon Musk’s Proposal

In response to the crisis, billionaire Elon Musk proposed on March 21 to pay the salaries of TSA agents during the shutdown, stating that the situation negatively impacts the lives of many Americans. According to various estimates, the average annual salary of these agents is $50,000 to $60,000, totaling between $2.5 to $3 billion for an entire year.

Donald Trump also warned on Saturday that if ICE agents were indeed deployed to airport checkpoints, they would proceed with the “immediate arrest of any immigrant who entered our country illegally, with particular attention on those from Somalia.”

Democrats refuse to vote on the budget unless restrictions are imposed on ICE, whose methods are highly contested. Tensions escalated after the deaths of two Americans killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, leading to protests across the country.