Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will deploy to airports on Monday to help ease security lines amid the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday.

President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to deploy ICE agents to airports as the shutdown drags into its second month, creating headaches for travelers moving through hours-long Transportation Security Administration security lines.

Homan confirmed that ICE will be deployed on Monday during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“We will be at the airports tomorrow, helping TSA move those lines along,” Homan said, adding that ICE will assist in areas like guarding exit doors to relieve TSA agents for screening travelers. “We’re simply there to help TSA do their jobs in areas that don’t need their specialized expertise.”

Homan said the details of the plan are still under discussion, but will be decided by Monday morning when ICE agents deploy.

“We’ll have a plan by the end of today, what airports we’re starting with and where we’re sending them,” Homan said. “It’s a work in progress.”

The move to deploy ICE comes as the DHS shutdown, which began on Feb. 14, strains airport workers. Many TSA agents have either called out rather than work without pay or quit altogether. More than 400 TSA officers have left their jobs since the start of the shutdown, according to an NBC News report.

Democrats are demanding statutory changes to immigration enforcement practices in exchange for funding DHS after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by ICE in Minneapolis.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York slammed the plan to deploy ICE agents to airports.

“The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or, in some instances, kill them,” Jeffries said on CNN.

Jeffries, however, indicated that Democrats do not plan to back down from their demands in exchange for funding DHS.

“It’s unfortunate that Republicans have decided that they would rather force TSA agents to work without pay, inconvenience millions of Americans all across the country and now potentially expose them to untrained ICE agents and create chaos at airports throughout the land rather than get ICE agents under control,” Jeffries said. “They need to be reined in, and our view is that they should not get another dime of taxpayer dollars until we have bold and dramatic and meaningful changes.”

The Democratic leader also suggested funding TSA and all other DHS subagencies, with the exception of ICE and Customs and Border Protection. Democrats have tried to advance such a bill several times, but Republicans have stymied the legislation, fearing they would lose leverage to eventually fund ICE and CBP.

Some Republicans have warmed to the idea of splitting off ICE and CBP funding from the rest of DHS, which includes TSA, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who leads the Senate Commerce Committee, suggested the idea in an interview with The Hill on Saturday. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., also brought up the idea in an interview on C-SPAN’s “Ceasefire.” Both Kennedy and Cruz said Republicans would try to then pass funding for ICE through the reconciliation process, which only requires 50 votes in the Senate.

“Let’s open up everything but ICE,” Kennedy said. “But, I can tell you what’s gonna happen next, the Republicans are going to put a reconciliation bill on the floor that only requires Republican votes to fund ICE.”

This story is developing. Please refresh for updates.

President Donald Trump on ​Saturday ​threatened ​to send federal ⁠immigration agents ‌to U.S. ⁠airports unless congressional Democrats immediately ‌agree to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

“I will move our ⁠brilliant and ‌patriotic ‌ICE Agents to the Airports ⁠where they will ⁠do ⁠Security like no one ​has ‌ever seen before,” Trump wrote in ​a Truth Social post. The Trump administration has faced heavy criticism for aggressive deportation tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents.

Trump claimed ICE agents handling airport security would arrest immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, specifically targeting individuals from Somalia.

In a separate post later in the day, Trump said he plans to move ICE agents into airports as soon as Monday, telling them to “GET READY.”

“I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, ‘GET READY.’ NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!” he wrote.

When asked for comment, the White House referred to Trump’s social media. DHS did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

A bipartisan group of senators met with DHS border czar Tom Homan last night to discuss additional immigration enforcement concessions made by the White House on Friday in an attempt to end the partial government shutdown, POLITICO reported, citing lawmakers in attendance.

The Senate is in session Saturday and Sunday, working on other legislative issues, but it is unclear whether further talks or a vote on the new DHS funding proposal will take place.

Democrats are demanding changes to how federal immigration enforcement operates in exchange for releasing the funding. The White House and Democrats have been trading proposals for over a month but have not yet come to an agreement on a deal.

The DHS shutdown has been less disruptive than last year’s record-long government shutdown. But since much of DHS is considered essential, employees are required to work without pay.

The effects of the funding lapse and lack of pay are being felt at U.S. airports, where Transportation Security Administration agents are quitting or calling out sick. DHS employees missed their first full paychecks last week.

The shortage of agents has caused obscenely long lines at security checkpoints, including in Atlanta and Houston, where spring break travel is in full swing.

“If a deal ⁠isn’t ‌cut, you’re going to see what’s happening today ⁠look like child’s play,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN on Friday. Earlier in the week, Duffy warned that smaller airports could shut down entirely soon due to staffing.

In a separate post earlier in the day, Tesla CEO and former Trump advisor Elon Musk said he would like to cover the paychecks of TSA ⁠officers as the shutdown continues.

“I would like to offer to pay the salaries of ‌TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout ​the country,” Musk, the world’s richest man, said in a post on X.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The average salary for TSA agents is about $46,000 to $55,000, according to a recent Associated Press report.

It’s unclear how such an offer would work.

Last year, Trump announced a wealthy, unnamed donor provided $130 million to help cover military pay shortfalls caused by the administration’s first government shutdown, the longest in history. That mystery donor was revealed to be Timothy Mellon, an heir to a renowned Gilded Age banking family, The New York Times later reported.

But Mellon’s donation worked out to only about $100 per service member. It costs nearly $6.4 billion to pay U.S. troops every two weeks. And such a donation might have violated the Antideficiency Act, which bars federal agencies from spending funds that have not been appropriated by Congress, the Times reported.

— Annie Nova and Dan Mangan contributed reporting

The White House has choked off Cuba’s oil supply and threatened a “friendly takeover” of the communist-run island, against a backdrop of military operations in Venezuela and Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump is implying the country is his next target, saying: “Whether I free it, take it,  I think I can do anything I want with it. They’re a very weakened nation right now.” The oil shortage is bringing Cuba’s economy to the brink. But I’ve found myself thinking back when, not that long ago, it briefly looked like the two nations would normalize relations after decades of hostility.

I first landed in Havana in March 2012 to cover Pope Benedict XVI’s visit. The airport was small. I had to repeatedly explain to immigration officials that we were there as journalists, that we had permission, and that everything had been cleared in advance. I was grateful that my team spoke Spanish to help with the process.

Parts of the city felt strangely familiar from images I’d seen of faded pastel buildings and old American cars somehow still running on patched-together parts.

Cuba and the U.S. had been geopolitical foes for more than 50 years. Cuba became communist when the 1959 revolution brought Fidel Castro to power and the island nation, just 90 miles from Florida, strengthened its ties with the Soviet Union. The Cuban government seized U.S. property and American-owned businesses in response to a growing U.S embargo. In response, President John F. Kennedy formalized a full embargo in 1962. Supplies of food, fuel, and consumer goods quickly became scarce.

But being there, I sensed that something was beginning to shift.

Between 2012 and 2016, I made 10 trips, field producing for CNBC with international correspondent Michelle Caruso-Cabrera. Almost every visit seemed to line up with something significant — moments that felt like they might mark a turning point. But by the end, that momentum felt suddenly uncertain.

On my first visit, Havana was trying to look ready for a pope. Fresh paint lined parts of the Malecón, still drying in places along the route the pope was expected to travel. In a country shaped for decades by communism, his presence felt like more than a religious event. It felt like a signal, subtle but unmistakable, that Cuba might be opening up.

After that, things started to move quickly.

Less than a year later, the government invited a small group of journalists, including us, to see what it called “reforms” up close. We spoke with the central bank governor, and with small business owners trying to navigate a system that was changing, but not all at once.

We slipped away from the official itinerary and made our way to Hershey, Cuba, a town Milton Hershey built to secure sugar for his chocolate business in the early 20th century. It was one of several reminders of Cuba’s American past before its revolution. A former Coca-Cola factory had been repurposed by the state. A Western Union building housed the country’s telecom company. A Woolworth’s store had become a local discount store.

In July 2015, President Barack Obama announced the restoration of diplomatic ties. We moved quickly, out of New York, down to Miami, then onto a charter flight to Havana. On the ground, there was a real sense of excitement. But it wasn’t unguarded. People were hopeful, but careful.

A month later, the U.S. embassy reopened for the first time in more than 50 years. I watched the flag go up from the balcony of a crumbling apartment building across the street. For younger Cubans especially, it felt like a turning point: More opportunities, more access, more choice seemed within reach.

Obama’s visit the following March only added to that feeling. Travel restrictions for Americans were relaxed and limited trade began to restart. The embargo was still in place, as it is written into U.S. law, but it did slightly soften.

That week brought a Rolling Stones concert and a Major League Baseball game, the first on the island in years.

Even then, there was restraint. Cubans had learned not to get ahead of themselves. For many, optimism came with the memory of how quickly it could fade. After all, not everyone believed the United States should reopen relations with the country. Many argued that normalizing ties would reward the communist government without forcing meaningful reforms.

Still, things were changing. In 2016, Carnival Cruise Line, under its Fathom brand, docked in Havana, the first U.S. cruise ship to visit the island since 1978. By November, JetBlue had direct flights running from New York. For a time, it felt like the barriers were coming down in real time.

Reporting there was never simple. Permits could fall through without warning. Phones rarely worked. Wi-Fi was hard to find. Restaurants handed out long menus, but when you asked, you were often told the only thing available was rice and beans. I’d walk past buildings with elegant facades, only to step inside and find them hollowed out, crumbling, little more than dust and debris.

And yet, on each trip, you could see small signs that the transformation was continuing. Family-run restaurants began opening in people’s homes. Airbnb listings started to spread. It wasn’t dramatic, but it was there.

My final trip came in November 2016, just after Fidel Castro’s death, to cover his funeral. He’d ceded power to his brother Raoul years earlier, but the death of the man who symbolized the revolution was a huge moment.

This time, Havana was quiet.

Music stopped. Alcohol disappeared. The city entered a formal mourning period. People stood in long lines to sign condolence books.

From the outside, it looked like a clear ending. Inside Cuba, it didn’t feel that simple.

Standing there, it was hard not to feel that the energy of the previous years was slipping away. The same questions kept coming back. What happens now? What becomes of the reforms? Of the relationship with the United States?

When I left for the last time, I had the sense I’d witnessed something rare, a brief stretch of time when history seemed to accelerate, when long-standing patterns loosened, even if only slightly, and the future felt, for a moment, open.

In the years since, much of that momentum has slowed, and in some cases reversed. The U.S. withdrew embassy personnel, new travel limits were imposed in November 2017, and the flow of American visitors thinned. The opening that once felt within reach has given way to more familiar tensions, which are flaring like the changes I saw never happened.

History doesn’t always arrive with a clear beginning or a clean ending. In Cuba, it has a tendency to circle back on itself.

What comes next between these two neighbors is still unwritten.

The surge in fuel prices since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran nearly two weeks ago is already driving up airfare. Consumers’ appetite for travel this year will dictate just how much.

Cathay Pacific on Thursday said it would roughly double fuel surcharges on tickets starting March 18.

Earlier this week, Australia’s Qantas said it is raising fares to help cover its costs, Scandinavian Airlines said the “unusually rapid and substantial increase” in fuel prompted it to raise prices, and Air New Zealand pulled its financial outlook “until fuel markets and operating conditions stabilise,” adding that it has made “initial fare adjustments.”

“If the conflict leads to continued elevated jet fuel costs, the airline may need to take further pricing action and adjust its network and schedule as required,” Air New Zealand said.

U.S. airline CEOs and other executives will update investors on Tuesday at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference in Washington, D.C.

Analysts expect an earnings hit at least in the first quarter if not the first half of the year, though the impact will depend on how long higher fuel prices last.

“We think a hit to 1Q EPS appears almost certain at this point,” UBS airline analysts Atul Maheswari and Thomas Wadewitz wrote in a note last week.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said last week on the sidelines of an event at Harvard University that higher fares were likely on the way because of the surge in fuel prices.

Kirby said travel demand is still strong, however. Two other senior airline executives at U.S. carriers, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to media, also said travel demand has held up. If those trends persist, it could give airlines more pricing power, but that will depend on the war’s duration.

“Airlines never met a higher fare they didn’t want,” said Scott Keyes, founder of flight deal company Going, previously known as Scott’s Cheap Flights.

So what should consumers do?

Keyes said travelers can’t lose by booking early, as long as they’re not buying restrictive basic economy tickets. That way, customers can try to exchange or cancel their tickets and buy cheaper ones if airfare ends up falling.

“If you book a $500 summer flight today, and two weeks from now the price drops to $350, you can call up the airline and get the $150 difference back as a credit. Heads you win; tails the airlines lose,” he said.

Jet fuel is airlines’ biggest cost after labor, accounting for about a fifth or more of expenses, depending on the airline.

United alone spent $11.4 billion last year on fuel, at an average price of $2.44 a gallon, according to a securities filing. U.S. jet fuel on Wednesday was going for $3.78 a gallon, according to Platts.

Jefferies airline analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said in a note Thursday that she expects “the most acute financial impact to airlines from surging oil prices to be in the next 30-90 days as airlines have been booking yields for close-in flights assuming a much lower fuel price and carriers cannot retroactively raise fares.”

She said Delta Air Lines and United, which produce most U.S. airline profits, are better positioned than other carriers because of their high-end demand. Risks to demand, particularly for more price-sensitive customers, include the recent jump in gasoline prices.

Most U.S. airlines no longer hedge fuel costs, or lock in prices using futures and other securities. Southwest Airlines was one of the last holdouts, and it quit last year. A spokesman for the Dallas-based airline told CNBC that Southwest currently has “no plans” to resume hedging.

Travelers struggled with hours-long security lines at some airports as officials warned of Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages amid the partial government shutdown.

Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport told customers Sunday to arrive as early as 5 hours before their flights, and warned that security wait times could exceed three hours.

The partial government shutdown has meant that TSA officers are working but without regular paychecks.

TSA callouts rose during the 2018-2019 government shutdown, prompting the closure of some checkpoints and leading to longer screening lines. It ended hours after a shortfall of air traffic controllers curtailed flights on the East Coast. The current shutdown, however, is affecting only Department of Homeland Security employees, including TSA officers.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, as well as Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, said travelers should arrive at least 3 hours early because of the disruptions.

“Due to impacts from the federal government’s partial shutdown, there is a shortage of TSA workers at the security checkpoint,” New Orleans’ airport said on a post on X. “The Airport has staff on hand to help keep the lines organized, and we will continue to coordinate with our federal partners with the TSA as they navigate this issue.

Sunday’s disruptions rattled the airline industry and travelers just as the busy spring-break travel period gets underway.

“Airlines have done their part to prepare; now Congress and the administration must act with urgency to reach a deal that reopens DHS and ends this shutdown,” Chris Sununu, chief executive of Airlines for America, an industry group that represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and others, said in a statement. “America’s transportation security workforce is too important to be used as political leverage.”

The disruptions come as airlines are grappling with the fallout of the U.S. and Israel’s attacks on Iran, which have led to thousands of canceled flights and driven up the cost of fuel, their biggest expense after labor.

Airline and travel stocks fell Monday after airspace closures throughout the Middle East forced carriers to cancel thousands of flights, disrupting trips as far as Brazil and the Philippines.

United Airlines, which has the most international exposure of the U.S. carriers, was down 6% in premarket trading. Service to Tel Aviv, Israel, is one of the airline’s most profitable routes, but airlines were also was forced to pause flights to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, one of the busiest airport hubs in the world.

Dubai is a home base for airline Emirates.

Shares of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines were also each off about 6%. Flights through the Middle East were grounded including to destinations like Tel Aviv.

Other carriers like Southwest Airlines, which is more U.S.-focused, had smaller stock moves but shares still fell as investors assessed a possible run-up in oil prices. Fuel is generally airlines’ biggest cost after labor.

Hotel chains also fell, with Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide Holdings down.

International travel has been a bright spot in the travel sector. In January, international air travel demand jumped 5.9% from a year ago while domestic flight demand was nearly flat, the International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, said in a report on Monday.

Travelers are stranded as far away as Australia, Brazil and the Maldives after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran this weekend. With airspace in the region still closed, getting home could be a challenge at least several days.

Here’s what to know:

The Transportation Security Administration said on Sunday that its PreCheck airport screening lanes are operational, an about-face hours after the Department of Homeland Security said the faster security checkpoints were paused amid the partial government shutdown.

Travel industry leaders said they received little, if any, warning of the changes to PreCheck, a program that allows its 20 million pre-screened members to pass through airport security faster than at standard lanes. Industry members spoke with DHS officials in the past few hours and expressed alarm about the sudden decision, people familiar with the matter said.

“At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public,” TSA officials said in a statement. “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly. Courtesy escorts, such as those for Members of Congress, have been suspended to allow officers to focus on the mission of securing America’s skies.”

DHS early Sunday said that PreCheck and Global Entry and other program suspensions were scheduled to take effect at 6 a.m. ET on Sunday. As of 12:40 p.m. ET, its updated statement still included a suspension of Global Entry but it had removed its mention of PreCheck.

“We are glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and avoid a crisis of its own making,” Geoff Freeman, chief executive of U.S. Travel, an industry group whose members include major airlines, hotel chains like Hyatt and Marriott International and tourism boards around the country.

The move comes as a partial U.S. government shutdown that has left thousands of DHS workers, including TSA airport screeners, working without pay since it started on Feb. 14.

“TSA and CBP are prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry and suspending courtesy and special privilege escorts,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.

Noem blamed Democrats for the shutdown.

“Shutdowns have real world consequences, not just for the men and women of DHS and their families who go without a paycheck, but it endangers our national security,” she said. “The American people depend on this department every day, and we are making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions to mitigate the damage inflicted by these politicians.” 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), pushed back, saying the Trump administration is “choosing to inflict pain on the public instead of adopting common sense” reforms of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

DHS did not say whether it expected to reverse its suspension of Global Entry or what prompted the change. The White House referred an inquiry from CNBC to DHS.

Travel industry experts sharply criticized the move before it was reversed, which comes just months after last year’s record federal government shutdown cost airlines millions of dollars and hurt bookings, according to executives. The sector’s leaders have repeatedly complained about how air travel has ended up at the center of repeated shutdowns and have pushed lawmakers to ensure that essential government workers are paid during funding lapses.

The government shutdown in the fall, the longest ever, cost the travel industry and other sectors $6.1 billion, the group said. Those disruptions affected about 6 million travelers.

“A4A is deeply concerned that TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs are being suspended and that the traveling public will be, once again, used as a political football amid another government shutdown,” said Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu. The group represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and other major carriers.

“The announcement was issued with extremely short notice to travelers, giving them little time to plan accordingly, which is especially troubling at this time of record air travel,” he added.

The U.S. Travel Association said earlier: “We are disgusted that over the last 90 days, Democrats and Republicans have used air traffic controllers, TSA, CBP and the entire travel experience as a means to achieve political ends,” it said in a statement.

The measures come as a massive winter storm bears down on the Northeast U.S., which could disrupt airline flights for days.

Airlines have canceled thousands of flights through Monday and waived cancellation and change fees for airports spanning Virginia to Maine ahead of the East Coast blizzard.

— CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed to this article.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

U.S. airlines began canceling Sunday flights and waiving cancellation and change fees for airports from Virginia to Maine ahead of another massive winter storm on the East Coast, set to once again put carriers to the test at the tail-end of winter break.

Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines and Spirit Airlines waived fees and fare differences for passengers if they can travel as late as Feb. 26. Southwest Airlines said customers are eligible for a change without paying a difference in fare if they can rebook to fly or fly standby within two weeks.

The storm could bring between 13 and 18 inches of snow to parts of southern Connecticut and southeast New York, as well as winds of up to 55 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. The blizzard warning is set to begin at 6 a.m. ET Sunday.

As of 4:30 pm ET Saturday, close to 400 U.S. flights were canceled, according to FlightAware. Delta had the most, with 174 cancellations or 5% of its mainline schedule. New York airports, which make up a major Delta hub, were the most affected by Sunday’s disruptions.

The National Weather Service raised its initial assessment of the potential severity of a storm. The weather service now says 1 to 2 feet (about 30 to 61 centimeters) of snow is possible in many areas. Blizzard warnings were also issued for New York City, Long Island, southern Connecticut and coastal communities in New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The weather service warned that the storm’s steady winds of 25 to 35 mph (40 to 56 kph) would “make travel dangerous, if not impossible.”

Winter Storm Fern in January, followed by bitter cold, caused mass travel disruptions across a large swath of the U.S.

American Airlines had struggled to recover, drawing harsh criticism from flight crews, some of whom were stranded and had to sleep at airports, heightening tension between frontline employees and the company’s CEO, Robert Isom.

The storm cost American between $150 million and $200 million in revenue, the carrier said last month on an earnings call.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.