US President Donald Trump said he would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to airports on Monday, after threatening to do so if congressional Democrats did not accept the Republican-backed funding deal.
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“ICE will be going to airports to help our great Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers,” Trump said in a social media post Sunday morning, exacerbating the standoff over the funding deal that has led to a partial shutdown of public services and slowed security lines at airports across the country.
In a post earlier on Truth Social over the weekend, Trump said ICE agents would “provide security like no one has ever seen before, including immediate arrest of all illegal immigrants who enter (the) country, with a particular focus on those from Somalia.”
Deploying agents at checkpoints across the country would mark an unprecedented expansion of immigration enforcement measures, even as Democrats call for tighter restrictions on how those agents operate, citing concerns that the administration has accelerated training to bolster ICE’s workforce.
Speaking on Sunday morning’s show State of the Union CNN’s Tom Homan, White House border affairs official, said the administration is working to determine exactly what ICE agents will do and which airports they will be assigned to.
PHOTO KEN CEDENO, REUTERS
Tom Homan, Trump administration border affairs official, Friday
We will be at the airports (this Monday) to help the TSA move the lines forward.
Tom Homan, White House border affairs official, on CNN Sunday
Mr. Homan said Fox News Sunday that it did not envision ICE agents participating in x-ray screening or other tasks requiring specialized training. However, he clarified that they could be entrusted with other missions, such as monitoring emergency exits or checking passengers’ identity documents before entering the control zone.
“Free up resources”
John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE during the Obama administration, said the impact of this new deployment will largely depend on how it is implemented, including which ICE agents are sent, their number and their location within airports.
Mr. Sandweg pointed out that when the Transportation Security Administration is short-staffed, the biggest slowdowns tend to occur with X-ray machines, baggage screening and ID checks — tasks that he said require specialized training.
I struggle to see, from an operational standpoint, any justification for this other than to once again use ICE as political leverage to try to pressure Democrats to end the shutdown. I think that’s what it’s about.
John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE during the Obama administration
Mr. Homan argued that this deployment “allows TSA officers to refocus on screening to move travelers through more quickly.” “We’re trying to free up TSA resources to put them in positions where their expertise is really needed, like X-ray screening. We’re going to serve as a force multiplier. »
PHOTO TY ONEIL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
TSA officers at a security checkpoint at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Saturday
Joe Shuker, regional vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 100, which represents TSA agents, said exit management now requires fewer staff thanks to the implementation of automated exit systems, and that much of TSA agents’ other tasks require specialized training and technical expertise.
“It doesn’t seem to be much help,” Shuker said of the plan to send ICE agents to airports.
Deadlock in Congress
Democrats refused to fund some Department of Homeland Security agencies — which includes ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — until the Republican Party agreed to new restrictions on immigration enforcement after federal agents killed Alex Pretti and Renée Good in Minneapolis. But the agencies they seek to reform — ICE and CBP — have largely continued operations after receiving billions of dollars last year as part of the Republicans’ tax and spending bill.
The standoff in Congress has left the majority of TSA employees without pay for more than a month, leading to increased staff absences at airports and threatening to worsen disruptions for travelers as spring break approaches for millions of students.
Among the changes demanded by Democrats are the requirement that ICE agents obtain a warrant from a judge before forcibly entering homes as well as a ban on wearing a mask. The Trump administration has agreed to several requests, including expanded use of body cameras and limiting administrative oversight activities in certain locations, such as hospitals, schools and places of worship.
On Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (a Democrat from New York State) told CNN that Republicans “decided they would rather force TSA agents to work without pay, cause inconvenience to millions of Americans across the country, and now potentially expose them to untrained ICE agents and wreak havoc in airports across the country” than pass the ICE changes requested by the Democrats.
Mr. Jeffries urged Republicans in both chambers to pass legislation to pay TSA agents, even as the DHS shutdown continues. He noted that Senators Ted Cruz (Republican of Texas) and John Neely Kennedy (Republican of Louisiana) have expressed support for such a measure.
“Let’s submit these bills to the House and the Senate (this Monday) so that TSA agents can be paid,” demanded Mr. Jeffries.
In a second post on Truth Social on Saturday, Mr. Trump accused Democrats of harming “so many people through their cruel and callous methods.”
“What they have done to the Department of Homeland Security, to our fantastic TSA agents and, most importantly, to the wonderful citizens of our country is an absolute disgrace,” he continued, pledging to send ICE to airports as early as Monday.
A “targeted approach” requested
Sen. Patty Murray (R-W.A.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement that Mr. Trump should focus his attention on his own party.
“There is no doubt that the last thing people want after waiting hours in long TSA lines is to be unfairly detained by ICE,” she said.
Here’s an idea: Instead of sidelining TSA agents and sending ICE to harass travelers, the president should tell Republicans to stop blocking our bill to defund the TSA.
Patty Murray, Democratic Senator
Some Border Patrol agents are currently working at airport checkpoints along the southern border. Mr. Trump said he would deploy ICE agents if Democrats did not “immediately sign a deal.”
This type of operation, former acting ICE Director John Sandweg estimated, would almost certainly target an immigrant population with no criminal records.
“For every person with a criminal record, you’ll meet 15 people who have been here a long time, and there are much more effective ways to reach that criminal population through a targeted approach,” Sandweg continued.
With Marianne LeVine, Meryl Kornfield and Theodoric Meyer, The Washington Post
This article appeared in the Washington Post.
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