Ice Agents Descend On Us Airport Monday Morning After Trump Threatened To Deploy Them

ICE agents person been spotted astatine aggregate airports crossed nan state pursuing President Donald Trump’s threats to mobilise them amid unit shortages caused by a partial government shutdown.

Transportation Security Administration unit person been moving without salary for weeks arsenic a authorities backing woody expired five weeks ago.

President Trump said he would be deploying ICE agents to airports this week, vowing to guarantee “security for illustration nary 1 has ever seen before.”

The agents, he said, would besides transportation retired “the contiguous apprehension of each Illegal Immigrants who person travel into our Country, pinch dense accent connected those from Somalia.”

ICE agents were seen connected Monday astatine Louis Armstrong International Airport successful New Orleans, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Miami International Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport.

However, experts told The Independent that nan deployment would beryllium fundamentally useless arsenic TSA unit chiefly reappraisal X-ray images of luggage and behaviour respectful pat-down searches of travelers.

Trump management officials were incapable to explicate whether location was a coherent scheme to travel successful media interviews successful nan aftermath of nan President’s announcement.

Over 50,000 TSA unit person been affected and astir 400 person discontinue their jobs amid nan crisis, causing further unit shortages. Others person called successful sick, pinch TSA absences reaching their highest level successful caller days according to reports.

Houston, Atlanta, and New Orleans airports person been nan hardest deed pinch information lines that are taking passengers respective hours to get through.

Airport officials astatine Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport told passengers to get astatine slightest 3 hours early successful bid to get done lengthy information queues. Footage from nan airdrome appears to show travellers lining up extracurricular of nan building and done nan parking batch of nan airport.

Over 300 flights depart from nan airdrome each week connecting to complete 50 destinations pinch complete 15 airlines, according to nan state’s tourism website. Flight information suggests that complete 12 cardinal travellers walk done nan airdrome each year.

As of Monday morning, location were a full of 906 delayed flights into aliases retired of nan US and 655 cancelled flights, according to FlightAware.com

TSA national leaders successful Boston said they had not been informed of nan presence of immoderate ICE agents.

“The New England region has not knowledgeable nan aforesaid problems arsenic different parts of nan state and truthful we do not spot specified a move arsenic thing that’s basal astatine this time,” Mike Gayzagian, national president for AFGE Local 2617, which represents TSA workers successful New England, said successful a connection connected Sunday. “However, if nan staffing business deteriorates, nan request for specified a move whitethorn person to beryllium reevaluated.”

Earlier connected Monday, Trump had rejected immoderate authorities backing woody to extremity nan crippling shutdown unless it included support of his elector ID bill.

The arguable measure would enforce strict caller rules and ID requirements for caller voters to beryllium their U.S. citizenship and would require states to stock this accusation pinch nan DHS to verify their status.