President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents sent to national airports to aid TSA amid the shutdown would find opportunities to apprehend illegals as part of the move.

Trump ordered ICE agents to American airports to help TSA, which has faced staffing shortages and no-shows throughout the ongoing DHS shutdown.

"They love it because they’re able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country. It’s very fertile territory," Trump told reporters, according to The Hill.

The deployment has enraged Democratic politicians, many of whom have refused to support an end to the DHS shutdown specifically to extract policy concessions on immigration.

The shutdown has lasted for more than one month.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.