Pres. Trump threatens to send ICE agents to airports

President Trump said Saturday he will send ICE agent to airports as millions face long security lines, and no sign of a breakthrough on a funding deal.

“I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, “GET READY.” NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!,” the president wrote on his social media site.

The move would come amid an ongoing standoff between Senate Republicans and Democrats over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Trump also said ICE agents’ work in airports would include “the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country.”

His comments come as Senate Republicans on Saturday blocked a Democratic effort to pass a stand-alone bill to fund TSA in a 41-49 vote and a day after Senate Democrats voted down Republicans’ efforts to pass a bill to fully fund DHS, which has been partially shut down since mid-February.

“I feel like that would be okay if they’re willing to step (in) and do a good job and do what (TSA officers) do,” traveler Meghan Cox told NBC New York at Newark Liberty International Airport Saturday.

But other fliers like Sherry Loris of Powell, Wyoming lambasted the idea. “That is going to be a train wreck. I’m not saying they can’t do a good job, but it’s not the same job.”

For weeks, Congress has been at odds on funding DHS as congressional democrats push for reforms to ICE and CBP immigration enforcement following at least two deadly confrontations with American citizens.

The showdown has stopped paychecks for TSA officers, which officials say has led to an increase in callouts, on top of more than 400 workers who have quit, translating to long lines, long waits and frustration. Some airports have been forced to consolidate checkpoints.

“Very frustrated,” said flier Will Simpson of West Palm Beach, Florida, who says his 90-minute wait at Newark’s Terminal A security checkpoint made him miss his flight home. “They said ‘you’re not gonna make it, so go to another airport. Just giving you a heads up.’ So I get all my bags and I gotta get an Uber (for) $110 to go to LaGuardia.”

On the Senate floor Saturday, Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) pointed blame at Democrats. “Homeland Security employees have been working without pay for more than a month,” he said. “The problems of having an unfunded Homeland Security Department continue to multiply, and Democrats, well, they just seem to shrug.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) asked Republican colleagues, “Do you want chaos at our airports to come down? Yes or no?,” adding “If you’ve had enough of long lines, if you want TSA workers to get paid, then vote yes on the motion I am bringing before the Senate today.” His motion funds only TSA but not the rest of DHS. “People have been waiting for two hours, three hours, sometimes more, just to get through security.”

In February, Democrats vowed to shut down DHS until Republicans agreed to new checks on ICE agents such as requiring them to wear identification and banning them from wearing face coverings. The move came after two Americans — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were killed by federal law enforcement in Minnesota in January during a major immigration crackdown in the state.

NBC News contributed to this report.