ICE agents deploy to major U.S. airports as TSA faces shutdown shortages

Stephanie Sy:

For more now on the deployment of ICE agents to airports, I'm joined by John Sandweg, who served as acting ICE director under President Obama.

John, thank you so much for joining the "News Hour."

So, hundreds of ICE agents were deployed to more than a dozen airports today, including New York, Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta. What are you seeing and hearing about how this is going so far?

John Sandweg, Former Acting ICE Director:

Well, I think, thus far, it's basically what I expected when I heard about this plan, which is there are real limitations on what those ICE agents can do.

The jobs of these TSA agents are actually very highly skilled, require skill and training, right, things that, although ICE agents have tremendous law enforcement experience, they're not -- they can't step in and run the X-ray or conduct one of those pat-down searches, or even do the baggage inspection that happens behind the scenes.

So I think this -- what we have seen thus far is these agents are providing more of a visible presence, perhaps helping them a little bit with perimeter security, but the bottom line is that that's just not going to be the types of activities that are going to free up TSA agents and help shrink those lines that we're seeing in some of these airports.

Stephanie Sy:

I understand that the ICE agents don't even have the same security clearance that TSA agents might have, and 12 percent of those TSA officers called out yesterday, 3,200 employees that didn't show up for work.

The problem, as you know, is these long lines, leading to air travel disruptions. How much will having ICE agents deployed help address that problem?

John Sandweg:

Well, what ideally -- I think, for this to work, right, for this to actually let ICE replace those missing TSA agents, you need ICE agents to be able to do tasks that would otherwise be required by TSA agents.

Now, as Tom Homan said when he kind of explained this yesterday, that you could have ICE agents manning those security checkpoints at the exits, right, as you leave the security or the airport. You will often see a TSA agent or two sitting at a podium there, making sure someone doesn't enter through the exit line.

Basic tasks like that, ICE could do. The problem is, though, that's about it. And the majority of those TSA agents are doing things like operating the metal detectors and other screening devices when people enter, operating those X-ray devices. Those are simply tasks that ICE agents can't do without extensive training.

And so I think that's the -- from an operational perspective, it's really hard to see a lot of value with this, right? For this to work, you want ICE agents to be able to come in, do some of these basic jobs, free up a lot of those TSA agents, so they can help screen the passengers, move things along.

But, again, without that specific training, it's just not something that ICE or any law enforcement agency can do. So, ultimately, in terms of reducing the size of those lines, this is really not going to be operationally all that impactful.

Stephanie Sy:

When have immigration agents ever been used in this way?

John Sandweg:

Well, they're not. They have never been used this way.

They're -- with one exception. If you are down at smaller airports right next to the U.S.-Mexico border or sometimes in places like Puerto Rico, you will sometimes see a Border Patrol presence there outside the TSA checkpoint. And what there is providing another layer of security, trying to protect people who've crossed that border unlawfully, might now be trying to board a flight into the interior of the United States.

Outside of that area, we have never -- certainly never seen ICE deployed in the air environment, and certainly never -- never near the TSA checkpoints. ICE does play a role in terms of having -- as a presence traditionally at the airport.

But those are Homeland Security Investigations special agents, so criminal special agents who are there primarily responding to situations inside the Customs and Border Protection, that port of entry, right, where international travelers are arriving, or potentially making apprehensions of individuals who are smuggling goods or have caught smuggling items out of the United States or international fugitives trying to board a flight to depart the United States, situations like that.

But this idea of using ICE agents at the TSA checkpoints is something that has never happened in the history of the agency.

Stephanie Sy:

To that point, John, President Trump posted that these ICE agents will -- quote -- "do security, including the immediate arrest of illegal immigrants."

What do you expect we might see unfold at airports now? And can you see these ICE deployments potentially leading to more chaos?

John Sandweg:

Stephanie, I think that is the big question is, will they be doing immigration enforcement? I certainly think if we start seeing immigration enforcement operations in conjunction with these TSA checkpoints, you will see a lot of chaos.

You're going to see a lot of people who are legally present and probably some U.S. citizens who are going to detained and kind of forced into questioning because, for one reason or another, some suspicion was generated with the I.D. they presented at TSA.

I would say this, that I'm sure there are some in the administration who've always looked at these TSA checkpoints as a potential source of making a lot of immigration arrests. You have individuals in a secure environment, so it's a safer environment to make arrests. But, more importantly, it's one of the few places in the United States where people have to present an identification, almost like an I.D. checkpoint.

And you could see a scenario where TSA agents are just looking for anyone who presents a foreign passport or a driver's license that's not Real ID-compliant, something that doesn't clearly show they are entitled to be in the United States, referring them for further questioning by ICE officers.

I think, if we saw that, though, we're going to see real chaos at that point. You are going to see people who have a legal right to be in this country who are going to be pulled aside and questioned. You're going to have a lot of fear, probably a lot of people deciding they'd rather not run the risk of facing those questions and not flying.

So it'll be very interesting. I know the president said that immigration enforcement would be part of this mission. Thus far, it doesn't appear that we have seen that. But I think that will tell us whether or not this will be, in many ways, operationally unimpactful, where people just won't impact their travel, rather, and their TSA experience, or whether or not this becomes a much bigger and potentially chaotic ordeal.

Stephanie Sy:

That is John Sandweg, the former acting ICE director under the Obama administration, joining us.

John, thank you.

John Sandweg:

Thank you.

Stephanie Sy:

A note that the "News Hour" requested interviews today with White House border czar Tom Homan, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. The invitation still stands.