President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that ICE agents would be sent to airports across the country to assist in TSA with security duties.
ICE agents are officially in place at JFK and Newark Liberty International airports a day after President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that immigration agents would be sent to airports across the country starting Monday to assist in TSA officers with security duties.
“The Port Authority expects that any such personnel assigned to assist with passenger processing functions will be appropriately trained and focused on supporting screening operations, consistent with maintaining the safety, integrity, and efficiency of the security process at our airports and protecting the flying public," a Port Authority spokesperson said in a statement, adding confirmation that TSA agents are now at JFK and Newark. WATCH HERE Over the past month, TSA officers have not been paid due to a partial government shutdown. More than 400 TSA workers have quit since the partial government shutdown which began on Feb. 14 left them working without pay, the Department of Homeland Security said, NBC News reports. Added to the workers who quit are the many others who are calling out sick because of a lack of pay as Congress remains stalled over a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security. On Saturday, roughly 17% of employees called out at LaGuardia Airport and nearly 33% failed to show at Kennedy Airport. Those are among the highest rates in the country. Border Czar Tom Homan says a plan is in the works in terms of what airports ICE agents will deploy to and how they’ll assist TSA, as the agency struggles with staffing shortages amid the budget showdown. Homan told CNN that ICE agents will not assist with airport security screenings but will provide extra security where needed at airports that have struggled the most with TSA staffing shortages. "I don't see an ICE agent looking at an x-ray machine because not trained in that," said Homan. There are certain parts of security that TSA is doing, that we can move them off those jobs and put them in the specialized jobs, help move those lines.”However, the move is raising alarms among immigrant advocates who fear the presence of immigration agents could lead to enforcement actions against travelers or airport workers. TSA, which falls under the purview of DHS, is seeing an uptick in callouts and more than 400 resignations from officers who have not been paid as Congress fights over reforms to ICE and Customs & Border Protection. The situation appears to be getting worse by the day. Saturday marked the highest day for callouts, with 11.5% percent of TSA employees not turning up for work nationwide. Passengers are feeling the pain as well. Staffing shortages are leading to long lines with frustrating waits. At JFK, lines formed with travelers hoping they would make it through in time to reach their flights Sunday. That was also the case at LaGuardia, where lines wrapped through Terminal B as passengers waited to get screened. Some travelers reported waiting in line for upwards of an hour. However, fliers who spoke to NBC New York said they were prepared to wait, because there wasn't much more they could do. "My friends keep traveling. We travel a lot. They say, 'go there at least four hours , not three hours,'" said Ash Dewari from the Upper West Side.LaGuardia Airport
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