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ICE Officers to Help TSA Amid Shutdown 03/23 06:11
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump's decision to order federal
immigration agents to U.S. airports to help with security during a budget
impasse is drawing concerns that their presence may escalate tensions among air
travelers frustrated over hourslong waits and screeners angry about missed
paychecks.
Trump made clear on Sunday that he was going ahead with the plan to have
immigration enforcement officers assist the Transportation Security
Administration by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs unless
Democrats agreed to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats are
demanding major changes to federal immigration operations and showing no sign
of backing down.
Hundreds of thousands of homeland security workers, including from the TSA,
U.S. Secret Service and Coast Guard, have worked without pay since Congress
failed to renew DHS funding last month.
"Bad idea," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, about the new airport
security plan, which Trump said would start Monday.
"What we need to do is, we need to get the DHS issues resolved, we need to
get the TSA agents paid," she told reporters at the Capitol, where the Senate
held a rare weekend session. "Do you really want to have even additional
tensions on top of what we are already facing?"
Senators advanced the nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to be
Trump's next homeland security secretary by a largely party-line vote, 54-37,
with two Democrats joining most Republicans. A vote on the confirmation could
come as early as Monday. Mullin has tried to make the case that he would be a
steady hand after the tumultuous tenure of Kristi Noem, Trump's first DHS
secretary.
Border czar heads up airport security effort
White House border czar Tom Homan, named by Trump to lead the new airport
security effort, has also been meeting with a bipartisan group of senators over
the partial shutdown. While he characterized those sessions as "good
conversations," he said they were "not at a point yet where we're in total
agreement."
Meanwhile, Homan said in Sunday news show interviews that the increased role
of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at airports -- its specific duties
and numbers -- was subject to discussions with the leadership of TSA and ICE.
DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis said "hundreds" of ICE officers would be deployed,
but she would not disclose the airports where they would go, citing security
reasons.
"It's a work in progress," Homan said. The priority, he said, was "the large
airports where there's a long wait, like three hours."
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens issued a statement Sunday night saying officers
from ICE and Homeland Security Investigations would be deployed to the
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport starting Monday morning.
At the airport on Sunday, some travelers waited in line for nearly six hours
at the main security checkpoint, where only two TSA agents were on hand
midafternoon to check IDs. Many missed their flights and scrambled to book
later flights or add themselves to standby lists that were already dozens of
names long.
Dickens said all federal personnel would report to TSA and be assigned tasks
such as line management and crowd control. "Federal officials have indicated
that this deployment is not intended to conduct immigration enforcement
activities," his statement said.
Homan said immigration officers, as an example, could cover exits currently
monitored by TSA agents, freeing them to work screening lines. Another option,
he said, was having ICE agents check identification before people enter
screenings areas.
"We're going to be a force multiplier," Homan said, while also acknowledging
there were limits.
"I don't see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine, because we're not
trained in that," he said. He pledged to have "a plan by the end of today,
where we're sending -- what airports we're starting with and where we're
sending them."
But Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government
Employees, which represents more than 50,000 TSA employees, condemned Trump's
plan, saying in a statement that ICE agents are not trained or certified in
aviation security.
"Our members at TSA have been showing up every day, without a paycheck,
because they believe in the mission of keeping the flying public safe," Kelley
said Sunday. "They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents
who have shown how dangerous they can be."
Budget talks stall as airport worries worsen
Democrats have said they are willing to fund TSA and most other parts of DHS
as they press for changes to immigration operations after the deaths of two
U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis during an
immigration enforcement operation. ICE officers are largely being paid during
the partial shutdown, thanks to an influx of cash from Trump's big tax breaks
bill last year.
"There are lots of ideas swirling right now," said Senate Majority Leader
John Thune, R-S.D. "The good news in all that is people realizing this has to
get fixed, it has to get solved."
As budget talks stayed behind closed doors Sunday, senators said they had
few details of which airports or how many immigration officers were being
dispatched. Some welcomed the effort.
"I don't think it can hurt," said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D. "They can help
relieve some of the pressure."
Trump said in a social media post that on Monday, "ICE will be going to
airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job" despite
the partial government shutdown. He further criticized Democrats.
Travelers at some airports worried about reaching their gates Sunday.
At Atlanta's airport, lines wrapped from one end of the airport to the other.
The scene appeared more chaotic at John F. Kennedy International Airport in
New York. Large crowds of anxious travelers piled toward security checkpoints,
and TSA staff shouted through megaphones to tell people not to push one another.
For Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, one concern is the uncertainty that
passengers are facing over possible wait times at any airport on any given day.
"Do I have to come an hour and a half early? Do I have to come four hours
early? They don't know until the day of or the afternoon of their flight," he
said. "So if we can alleviate that, again, the president wants to take away
that leverage point for Democrats and make travel easier for the American
people."
Homan appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and "Fox News Sunday," while
Duffy was interviewed on ABC's "This Week.' ___
Associated Press writers Collin Binkley in West Palm Beach, Fla., Anthony
Izaguirre in Lindenhurst, N.Y., Yuki Iwamura in New York, Nicholas Riccardi in
Denver, Kate Brumback in Atlanta, Margery Beck in Omaha, Neb. and Rebecca
Santana in Washington contributed to this report.
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