Philadelphia DA threatens to arrest ICE agents deployed to city's airport

"The president cannot pardon you," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said

Published: March 25, 2026 1:52pm

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) on Wednesday threatened to arrest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deployed to the city's airport.

ICE agents have been deployed to airports amid Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages due to the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security amid a Senate fight over passing a funding bill, The Hill reported.

“This is how it works. You commit crimes within the jurisdiction that is the city and county of Philadelphia, I prosecute you. That is how it works. No, I don’t take a phone call from [the] president saying, ‘Let them go.’ No, the president cannot pardon you,” Krasner, a DA backed by George Soros, said during a Wednesday press conference.

“I’ll say it again. The president cannot pardon you. And yes, I will put you in handcuffs and I will put you in a courtroom and, if necessary, I will put you in a jail cell if you decide to make the terrazzo floor of this airport, anything like what you did in the streets of Minneapolis, which involved the criminal homicide of unarmed, innocent people. We are not having that,” he added.

ICE agents have been spotted this week at airports in Philadelphia, Atlanta, New York City, Cleveland, Newark, N.J., Houston, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, among other places.

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told The Hill, “President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted.”

“This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions. For operational security reasons, we are not going to confirm the locations of our officers.”

President Trump said that ICE agents will remain at airports across the U.S. until the DHS shutdown ends.

Democrats have refused to fully fund DHS without reforms to ICE and immigration enforcement operations. Meanwhile, Republicans have refused to support Democratic proposals to only fund non-ICE agencies within DHS, including the TSA.

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