Transportation Security Administration (TSA) union workers on Tuesday criticized President Trump\u2019s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at select airports, saying the move will do little to reduce the long security lines driven by the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a virtual press conference hosted by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), TSA union leaders rejected the ICE deployment as an \u201cinsult\u201d and a \u201cwaste of money,\u201d pointing to the officers\u2019 lack of training and different skill set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou want to bring a tactical force into an environment where you\u2019re required to have customer service and skill set, a mindset, where you know what you\u2019re doing, how to identify something that might be suspicious \u2014 they don\u2019t have that training,\u201d said Hydrick Thomas, president of the AFGE TSA Council 100 and of AFGE Local 2222, which covers New York and New Jersey airports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some TSA union leaders said they have gotten little information about the extent of the training or responsibilities ICE officers are expected to take on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Janis Casey, AFGE TSA Council 100 Region 3 vice president, said there is little the ICE officers could do to relieve pressure on TSA staff \u201cbecause each position requires certification and recertification on a yearly basis. And you cannot fail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thomas, who works at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, said ICE officers stationed at JFK lack the familiarity with airport operations needed to assist travelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou go, right now, and ICE is walking around in the front of the terminal and the checkpoint, and a passenger walks up and says, \u2018Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to Terminal 4?\u2019 \u2026 They have no clue how to give you the right direction to get there,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cYou wind up in the parking lot area, the same place you left from, because he was giving the wrong direction. Now, you missed the plane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump deployed ICE officers to 14 airports across the country this week in an effort to ease long security lines tied to TSA staffing shortages, as officers continue reporting to work without the promise of a paycheck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several TSA union leaders expressed frustration that ICE officers sent to airports are being paid while TSA officers are not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor them to have them come in, knowing that they\u2019re collecting a per diem check and hotels, to come to these airports while officers are not receiving a paycheck is also, you know, I feel like it\u2019s waste,\u201d said Aaron Barker, president of AFGE Local 554, which covers airports in Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a waste of money that could have been coming into officers\u2019 bank accounts,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barker said ICE officers in Atlanta who are \u201cmonitoring lines\u201d are not filling staffing gaps, noting the city employs staff designated to direct passenger flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome airports already have the things in place that is being claimed that ICE is doing in the airports,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also pushed back on claims from the Trump administration that ICE officers helped ease lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which were shorter Tuesday than over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barker noted that Tuesday and Wednesday are \u201cnonpeak days,\u201d so it\u2019s expected that lines would be shorter, particularly in Atlanta, which he described as an \u201centertainment hub\u201d that draws heavier weekend travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt has nothing to do with ICE presence being there. The ICE officers in Atlanta are not doing any screening functions. They are literally standing behind the officers while they\u2019re checking documents and screening passengers or walking the queue line that cascades through the airport,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johnny Jones, AFGE TSA Council 100 secretary treasurer and AFGE Local 1040 president, dismissed the focus on ICE officers altogether, calling their presence a \u201cdistraction\u201d from the more urgent matter of missed paychecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLook, at the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t matter what ICE is doing up there. They just need to pay the employees,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThis is a straight-up distraction to the real story of TSA officers going to work without being paid. The ICE officers are being paid. This is kind of like an insult to the employees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n