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More federal immigration officers are making their way to U.S. airports after President Donald Trump said\u00a0he\u2019d deploy them to supplement\u00a0the Transportation Security Administration during a government shutdown that has caused long lines at security checkpoints across the country.<\/p>\n
On Monday morning, a handful of federal officers were seen by The Associated Press near busy lines at Hartsfield\u2013Jackson Atlanta International Airport. And a handful of other airports \u2014 including Louis Armstrong International in New Orleans, as well as Houston\u2019s George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby airports \u2014 said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would also be on site to support TSA operations.<\/p>\n
Federal officers are a routine presence at international airports, where Customs and Border Protection officers screen arriving travelers and Homeland Security Investigations agents handle criminal cases tied to smuggling, trafficking and fraud. But what\u2019s unusual in the current moment is their visibility at TSA security checkpoints.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s deployments came as\u00a0hundreds of thousands of Homeland Security workers, including from the TSA, U.S. Secret Service and Coast Guard, have\u00a0worked without pay\u00a0since\u00a0Congress failed to renew DHS funding\u00a0last month. That\u2019s led many TSA agents to call in sick \u2014 or\u00a0even quit their jobs\u00a0\u2014 as financial strains pile up. The\u00a0staffing shortages\u00a0have forced some airports to close checkpoints at times, with\u00a0wait times swinging dramatically\u00a0for travelers.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the Trump administration signaled it would deploy federal immigration officers to large airports with the longest wait times \u2014 and Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis said that would include \u201chundreds\u201d of ICE officers, but she did not disclose all the airports they would go to, citing security reasons.<\/p>\n
Some fear the move to deploy federal immigration agents will only escalate tensions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis latest threat of ICE invasion at the airports is another distraction from solutions that protect Americans,\u201d a coalition of unions representing flight attendants and other workers \u2014 including the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers \u2014 said in a Sunday statement. Transportation security officers \u201ccan\u2019t simply be replaced\u201d by federal immigration officers, they noted, adding that ICE\u2019s presence and potential attempts to question passengers about immigration status may also \u201cdistract them from ensuring airport security.\u201d<\/p>\n
The unions called for TSA workers to be paid immediately.<\/p>\n
Trump said on Sunday that he would order federal immigration agents to airports to assist TSA by guarding exit lanes or checking passenger IDs unless Democrats agreed to fund the DHS. Funding for the department lapsed Feb. 14, as Democrats refused to fund ICE as well as Customs and Border Protection without changes to their operations in the wake of the deaths of\u00a0Alex Pretti\u00a0and\u00a0Renee Good\u00a0in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
Democrats are\u00a0continuing to demand major changes\u00a0to federal immigration operations \u2014 including policy changes that would require ICE officers to get a warrant from a judge before forcefully entering homes, the removal of masks and clear identifying information on uniforms.<\/p>\n
Trump on Monday directed ICE officers not to wear face coverings in their work at airports. In a social media posted, Trump said he supports ICE officers wearing masks when dealing with \u201chardened criminals\u201d but suggested it isn\u2019t necessary \u201cwhen helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond TSA operations, New York\u2019s LaGuardia Airport\u00a0shut down following a deadly collision\u00a0on the runway late Sunday. An Air Canada regional jet\u00a0struck a fire truck\u00a0while landing, officials said \u2014 killing the pilot and copilot while around 40 passengers and crew members were taken to area hospitals, some with serious injuries.<\/p>\n
According to the FAA, LaGuardia is expected to remain closed until at least 2 p.m. ET on Monday. Air traffic has been diverted, and Monday morning operations also were halted at Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring New Jersey.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Grantham-Philips reported from New York. Associated Press writer Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
#ICE #begins #descent #nations #airports #day #partial #government #shut<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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