Trump orders ICE agents to airports
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s decision to order federal immigration agents to US airports to help with security during a budget impasse is drawing concerns that their presence may escalate tensions among air travelers frustrated over hours-long 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 (TSA) by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs unless Democrats agreed to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Democrats are demanding major changes to federal immigration operations and showing no sign of backing down.
Hundreds of thousands of homeland security workers, including those from the TSA, US 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 on 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?”
Nominee for Homeland Security
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.
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.”
Increased role
Meanwhile, Homan said in Sunday news show interviews that the increased role of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at airports—its specific duties and numbers —was subject to discussions with the leadership of TSA and (ICE). DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis said “hundreds” of ICE officers would be deployed, but she would not disclose the airports where they would go, citing security reasons.
