Trump Ridicules Schumer For Accidentally Demanding Funding For ICE
'Thank you Chuck, I agree!'
White House offers concessions to end DHS shutdown — but Dems still choose illegal aliens over unpaid American TSA agents
President Donald Trump's administration has offered several concessions to persuade lawmakers to restart funding for the Department of Homeland Security, but Democrats continue to refuse to compensate Transportation Security Administration personnel.
The White House and Democratic lawmakers have remained in a negotiation stalemate since the DHS shut down on February 14.
'If this continues, it's not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports – particularly smaller ones if callout rates go up.'
Border czar Tom Homan and the White House director of legislative affairs, James Braid, wrote a letter dated March 17 to Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Katie Britt of Alabama, detailing the administration's offered concessions.
The letter, which was shared by the Daily Wire, explained that the "majority" of Democrats' demands "would make it impossible to fully protect American citizens from dangerous criminal aliens and expose law enforcement and their families to increasing threats of violence."
"In other words, they would prioritize illegal aliens above American families," it reads.
The letter detailed how Homan ended the surge operation in Minnesota, canceled Immigration and Customs Enforcement's roving patrols, updated protocols for dealing with unlawful agitators, deployed body-worn cameras, and enhanced cooperation with local law enforcement.
RELATED: Spring break blues: DHS highlights outrageous airport conditions amid Democrat shutdown
Homan and Braid stated that the White House has offered to codify several improved guidelines, including expanding the use of body-worn cameras, limiting immigration enforcement activities in certain sensitive locations, increasing the oversight of detention centers, and requiring officers to visibly display their identification.
Despite the administration's efforts to negotiate, Democratic lawmakers repeatedly failed to make a good-faith effort to compromise, according to Homan and Braid.
"The Administration has worked in good faith to again reach bipartisan agreement on full funding for the entire Department of Homeland Security and institute common-sense operational improvements to federal immigration enforcement operations that enhance the safety of American communities," the letter reads.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused the White House of not taking the negotiations seriously.
"The issue is, they're not getting serious," Schumer stated. "The key issues of warrants when you bust into someone's house, the key issue of identity of police and no masks, they haven't budged on those."
RELATED: 'Is it even REMOTELY reasonable?' Scott Jennings demolishes liberal CNN panel on DHS funding feud
Meanwhile, TSA agents missed their first full paycheck last week. An estimated 366 TSA agents quit last month, NBC News found.
A TSA spokesperson told Fox News that the national callout rate jumped to 10.19% on March 15, compared to 2% before the shutdown.
"If this continues, it's not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports — particularly smaller ones if callout rates go up," acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told the news outlet.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Miss your flight? TSA chaos at your gate? Thank a Democrat.
If you’ve flown out of a Texas airport lately, you’ve felt it: longer security lines, missed flights, and mounting frustration. Texans aren’t alone. Airports across the country are snarled, especially as spring break gets under way.
Why the hassle? Democrats in Washington have refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration, causing mayhem at the departure gate. The fallout is hitting travelers first.
As this shutdown drags on, more employees are calling off or quitting for steadier work — which only worsens staffing shortages and delays.
This marks the third funding lapse in six months. Instead of doing their job, Democrats are using the DHS as leverage to undermine President Trump and stall the work Americans elected him to do.
The consequences are immediate. More than 95% of TSA employees are working without pay during this shutdown. Many have taken second jobs to cover basic bills. At the same time, the TSA has cut staffing, which means fewer screeners and longer lines — even as the security mission stays the same.
In Texas, wait times have reportedly reached three hours at some airports over the past week. That translates into real costs: lost time, missed flights, and families stranded because Congress can’t pass a basic funding bill.
And this chaos could end overnight. Congress could fund the government and get the DHS back to work. Instead, Democrats are choosing disruption — and putting national security at risk — to block Trump’s mandate to secure the border, end illegal immigration, and Make America Safe Again.
TSA employees have seen this movie before. During the 43-day shutdown in 2025, some slept in their cars to make ends meet. As this shutdown drags on, more employees are calling off or quitting for steadier work — which only worsens staffing shortages and delays.
RELATED: Spring break blues: DHS highlights outrageous airport conditions amid Democrat shutdown
The TSA isn’t the only agency taking the hit. The Coast Guard, housed within the DHS, has more than 7,000 employees going without pay and roughly 3,000 furloughed. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has furloughed about 65% of its staff. FEMA is also feeling strain as its Disaster Relief Fund drains, threatening the agency’s ability to support state and local recovery efforts.
This shutdown burdens Americans, weakens our security, and undercuts the people responsible for protecting the nation.
President Trump and Republicans won in 2024 with a clear mandate. DHS employees are trying to carry it out. Congress should not sabotage them.
Enough. Democrats must stop holding national security hostage and fund the DHS now. Anything less betrays the American people.
Spring break blues: DHS highlights outrageous airport conditions amid Democrat shutdown
Since last month, the Department of Homeland Security has been hamstrung by a Democrat-led government shutdown singling the agency out. Now, citizens — and especially air travelers — are paying the price due to a lack of department funding.
Security lines at airports across the nation have reportedly been "out the door" in some instances in the past couple of days, as DHS highlighted on Sunday.
'The best advice we can share with travelers is simple: plan ahead, arrive early and stay in communication with your airline.'
DHS wrote on X: "SECURITY LINES OUT THE DOOR. Americans are now missing their flights because of the Democrats [sic] shutdown of DHS. Their political stunt is forcing patriotic TSA officers to work without pay — leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages. Enough is enough: Democrats must fund DHS NOW."
TSA seconded the post: "Enough is enough. The Democrat shutdown of DHS must end!"
RELATED: 'It's about time': Passengers who refuse to use headphones may be kicked off this airline
Airports across the country have warned passengers to arrive at the airport several hours ahead of their scheduled flight.
For example, Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport posted an update on Monday morning telling passengers to plan to arrive three hours before their flight, adding that TSA security lines could take up to two hours to get through.
Likewise, Houston's William P. Hobby Airport cautioned passengers to arrive "4-5 hours before their flight to allow extra time for TSA screening."
The warning added that TSA wait time "may exceed 180 minutes."
Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the City of Houston's Department of Aviation, estimated that area airports are expecting 2.2 million travelers during the busy spring break season. The increased numbers of travelers paired with the decreased staff numbers at TSA because of the government shutdown have caused dramatic delays.
"The best advice we can share with travelers is simple: plan ahead, arrive early and stay in communication with your airline," reads a statement from Szczesniak.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a White House article Monday morning showcasing the frustrations of federal workers and travelers alike at various airports. The article also mentioned that over 100,000 DHS employees are working without pay.
Phoenix TSA worker Jovan Petkovich told Fox: "We're fed up. We've had enough. This is the third shutdown in a matter of six months. ... How many delays is it? How many flight attendants are being impacted?"
The White House's Rapid Response 47 account added to Petkovich's statement, saying, "Democrats need to fund [DHS] and stop playing politics with people's livelihoods."
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Biden Let Suspected Terrorists Slip Over The Border. Now Dems Are Starving DHS
What will the war to give Iranians the chance to 'seize control' of their destiny mean for U.S. homeland security? We’re about to find out.
Fly home or get caught: Trump’s TSA feeding ICE names before takeoff to nab illegal aliens 'without apology'
President Donald Trump's Transportation Security Administration is partnering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ramp up immigration enforcement.
While the two agencies are under the Department of Homeland Security, a New York Times report last week stated that “ICE has historically avoided interfering with domestic travel.”
'The message to those in the country illegally is clear: The only reason you should be flying is to self-deport home.'
However, beginning in March, the TSA reportedly quietly expanded its data sharing with ICE.
According to the NYT, the TSA has been providing lists of travelers’ names to ICE ahead of their scheduled flights. ICE then cross-checks that information against its own database of those subject to deportation, the outlet wrote. Agents are then dispatched to apprehend those individuals at the airport.
The report noted that it is unclear how many arrests have resulted from this data-sharing effort. It claimed there was at least one such arrest by immigration officials at Boston Logan Airport on November 20. That individual was deported.
RELATED: App allegedly endangers ICE agents — now its creator is suing the Trump administration
“The administration has turned routine travel into a force multiplier for removals, potentially identifying thousands who thought they could evade the law simply by boarding a plane,” Scott Mechkowski, the former deputy head of ICE’s New York office, told the NYT.
“This isn’t about fear; it’s about restoring order and ensuring every American knows their government enforces its laws without apology," he added.
RELATED: 'Make travel family friendly again': Trump admin launches $1B effort to improve airport experience
A DHS spokesperson told Blaze News that the program was “nothing new,” adding that in February, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country and do so without identification.”
“Under President Trump, TSA and DHS will no longer tolerate this. This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport,” DHS added.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Today's top stories
www.theblaze.com