NEW YORK (PIX11) — As of Monday, hundreds of ICE officers are stationed at airports across the country.
President Trump said the move is meant to help minimize travel disruptions caused by long screening lines during the partial government shutdown affecting the TSA.
However, some travelers raised concerns and questions over ICE’s exact responsibilities at airports.
Federal immigration officers were seen at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday. The Port Authority also confirmed ICE presence at JFK Airport.
“I don’t want to see ICE anywhere,” said traveler Tiffany Yang from Maplewood, NJ. “Can they do the job?”
“If it helps, that would be great,” said another traveler who did not want to be identified.
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE is needed at airports as TSA officers quit or call out of work without paychecks during the partial government shutdown.
“There’s just going to be a lot of intimidation,” said Tara Plastock of Middletown, NJ. “There’s a lot of uncertainty already and just doing that will create more of that.”
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However, the White House said that it will not be the case.
“For purposes of the airport, I’ve requested that they take off the mask,” said President Trump.
In a statement, the Port Authority said it 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.”
“There are certain parts of security that TSA is doing. We can move them off those jobs and put them in the specialized jobs, help move lines,” said White House Border Czar Tom Homan during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union.
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker visited Newark Airport on Monday to address the DHS funding standoff driving the TSA turmoil.
“We are having a fight over ICE funding. We are not having a fight over TSA funding or Coast Guard funding,” said Sen. Cory Booker.
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He and other Democrats are continuing calls for ICE reforms.
“Democrats over and over again are offering up resolutions to fund the TSA. But the reason why he’s not doing it is because he wants to continue the reckless, chaotic actions of ICE,” said Sen. Booker.
In the meantime, travelers are caught in the middle of the debate, packing hopes of resolution and shorter wait times.
“There’s a responsibility to the American people,” said Yang.
“It’s unfair to the workers. It’s unfair to the travelers,” said Roberta De Oleo of Somerset, NJ.
In a statement, DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said: “Because of the Democrat shutdown, President Trump is using every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hours long lines at airports across the country—especially during this spring break and holiday season that is very important for many American families. This pointless, reckless shutdown of our homeland security workforce has caused more than 400 TSA officers to quit and thousands to call out from work because they are not able to afford gas, childcare, food, or rent. While the Democrats continue to put the safety, dependability, and ease of our air travel at risk, President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted. This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions.”
DHS said it could not confirm other airports across the country seeing ICE presence due to “operational security reasons.”
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