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Workers with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are reeling from the White House’s deployment of immigration law enforcement into airports as TSA workers enter their sixth week without pay as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown continues.
More than 400 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began in February, with major US airports reporting high call-out rates among workers, leading to longer security wait times. On Sunday, more than, 3,450 TSA officers called out of work, with as many as 40% of officers at some airports calling out that day, according to DHS data.
Senate Republicans are still trying to work with the White House to negotiate a deal with Democrats to reopen the DHS. To help with the TSA staffing issues, Donald Trump sent Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) officers to 14 different airports on Monday.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents TSA workers, said in a statement on Sunday that these ICE agents are unqualified to do the same jobs as TSA officers.
“ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security. TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons and threats specifically designed to evade detection at checkpoints – skills that require specialized instruction, hands-on practice and ongoing recertification,” said Everett Kelley, the AFGE president. “You cannot improvise that. Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one.”
Antoinette Wade, president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1047 that represents TSA workers in Louisiana and Mississippi and a TSA officer in Jackson, Mississippi, said the influx of ICE agents has deflated TSA workers, especially as ICE agents continue to be paid during the shutdown.
“It definitely impacts morale when were are expected to show up to work every day and fulfill the duties and the missions that we love and support, keeping the public safe, and we’re not being paid,” Wade said. “A lot of people are skeptical about it and definitely offended by it. Basically, we need to be paid.”
Democrats in Congress said they will not fund DHS until Republicans agree to ICE reforms after the agency’s immigration enforcement operations resulted in the killing of two unarmed US citizens in Minnesota in January, in addition to accusations from federal judges that the agency has been recklessly violating the law and court orders.
Though John Thune, the Senate majority leader, spoke with Trump on Sunday about a bipartisan deal that would fund DHS except for ICE, leaving the agency to be funded by a reconciliation bill later this year, Trump rejected the deal, reported Punchbowl News.
Wade said TSA workers were still recovering from the earlier government shutdown in the fall.
“A lot of people took out loans, maxed out credit cards, did what they had to do to survive during that time,” said Wade. “We had to catch up on all of our bills right in the peak of the holiday season. So people are still paying back some of those loans.”
That shutdown lasted for 43 days, but Wade noted backpay wasn’t processed for several days after the shutdown ended. Now workers again don’t know how long this shutdown is going to last and when they will eventually be paid.
She emphasized that the high cost of gas recently and family members also feeling the economic impacts of rising prices of goods have made it more difficult for TSA workers to work unpaid again during another shutdown.
“This shutdown definitely feels a lot different, more intense, and it feels like it’s coming quicker, and the anxiety and the stress is coming quicker than last time,” said Wade. “We’re just in the middle of all the chaos from these political games; meanwhile, our livelihoods are at stake.”
Lauren Bis, the acting DHS assistant secretary, blamed Democrats for the shutdown in a statement, saying that “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”.
“Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted,” Bis said. “This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions.”
The White House made a similar claim in blaming Democrats, despite Trump turning down a deal offered by Senate Republicans.
“Democrats decided to recklessly shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Their decision has forced countless TSA employees to work without pay. Democrats could end this shutdown by simply funding the Department,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in an email.
