Democrat lawmaker Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) said the Trump administration deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents assisting the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for “absolutely no reason” as the partial government shutdown continues.
Trump previewed the move over the weekend, and ICE agents officially arrived at over a dozen airports across the country Monday as TSA call-outs topped 3,000 on both Saturday and Sunday. Videos and reports showed massive crowds and lines, with some airport terminals’ wait times exceeding four hours.
Despite the travel nightmare rapidly unfolding, some Democrats do not believe it warranted additional help.
“There’s absolutely no reason for him to do that,” Rep. Escobar said.
Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) described it as a “horrible, horrible idea that’s just going to cause more problems.”
However, several airports saw drastic improvements once ICE agents came to assist.
Despite the notable improvements, Grijalva expressed concern that ICE agents are not properly trained to assist TSA.
“So, if you think about it, I don’t know how they would be helpful in making people feel calm,” she said. “If I were an international traveler, I wouldn’t want to come to the United States to deal with a rogue agency that is under-trained.”
Several videos across social media show ICE agents handing out water to travelers, many of whom spoke highly of the work they were doing to help alleviate the chaos caused by the partial government shutdown.
Trump border czar Tom Homan over the weekend addressed critics who said ICE agents do not have the proper training to assist TSA, noting that many ICE agents are already assigned to airports across the country.
“ICE agents receive a high level of training,” he said during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union.
He added:
ICE agents are assigned at many airports across the country already. They do a lot of investigation, criminal investigations of smuggling at airports. But, you know, there’s, I mean, we’ve got TSA agents covering exits, you know, people that enter through the exits; certainly, highly trained ICE law enforcement officers can cover an exit.
On Friday, the partial shutdown reached day 42 as Democrats continue to demand reforms for ICE, pushing for the exposure of agents, thereby leaving them vulnerable.
“Senate Democrats want to ban ICE officers from wearing masks so their left-wing street militias can dox the officers and terrorize the officers’ wives and children at their homes,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said on Wednesday. “That’s why TSA lines are so long.”
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