Jayapal doubles down on anti-ICE terror claims as DHS shutdown triggers historic travel chaos

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., did not hold back when criticizing ICE and CBP as the Homeland Security shutdown drags on.

Jayapal told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, "We want actual reforms to the way ICE operates, and CBP [Border Patrol] also. That's the whole point. We don't want ICE and CBP murdering people on our streets and bashing down doors. So, as long as there's no reforms, I think we're not interested."

This comes as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and the GOP at large are blaming Democrats as Americans face long security lines at airports while a Department of Homeland Security funding lapse and related department shutdown drag on.

"The Democrat’s DHS shutdown strategy is clear: Block paychecks for TSA officers and force Americans to wait in lines at airports across the country — while letting criminal illegal aliens skip the line to enter the country. It’s madness," Johnson declared in a Tuesday post on X.

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Like the rest of the agencies that operate under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), funding for TSA ran dry on Feb. 14 over Democratic-led demands to reform ICE, the agency at the heart of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Democrats have conditioned their support for DHS funding on a ban on masks for ICE agents, stiffer warrant requirements for apprehending suspects in public and a ban on roaming patrols, among other changes.

Trump has deployed ICE agents to airports across the country, a move some Democrats have opposed.

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"There’s absolutely no reason for him to do that," said Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas. "There's a bipartisan deal to fund TSA. [Trump] has put a stop to it."

Instead of using ICE to meet security needs at airports, Escobar said Congress should pass a proposal that separates funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from the gridlock.

Fellow Democrat Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., echoed Escobar’s condemnation of the deployment.

"I think it's a horrible, horrible idea that's just going to cause more problems," Grijalva said.

Jayapal also shared her opposition to ICE being sent to airports, in a statement on X:

In part, she wrote, "Democrats are ready to pass funding to ensure that TSA workers are immediately paid, but instead, Trump and Republicans now want to deploy ICE agents to airports across the country to try and once again terrorize our communities."

LAWMAKERS’ AIRPORT PERKS IN CROSSHAIRS AS DHS SHUTDOWN SNARLS TRAVELERS, TSA

TSA Deputy Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the agency is experiencing the highest wait times in its history.

"We have already lost over 480 TSOs this shutdown, and our callout rates have accelerated as our workforce was still reeling from the last shutdown," McNeill noted.

New DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin was sworn into the role on Tuesday.

In part of a Tuesday post on X, Mullin noted that he is "committed to safeguarding the American people and protecting the homeland."

"My first priority is to end the partisan fighting and reopen the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a matter of national security," he said.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment.

Fox News' Leo Briceno, Alex Nitzberg, Danielle Wallace, Alexandra Koch and Emma Bussey contributed to this report.