What could the role of ICE be at airports?

0:00Long lines, frustrated passengers, missed flights. That has been the reality this week for thousands of travelers across the country as a partial government shutdown stretches into its sixth week. I just missed my flight by two minutes. Ariana Balsato was trying to fly from Houston to Charlotte for a second day on Monday. She told Houston Public Media that the day before, she had waited in line for three hours. I had to book a flight for$300 and yeah, I got here five hours early thinking it was going to look like what it did yesterday. It looks way worse than what it did yesterday. During the shutdown, agents at the Transportation Security Administration have been working without pay.

0:37At the same time, thousands have called out of work. Hundreds have quit. Well, some of them are needing money, you know, because the Democrats cut off their money. I blame the Democrats more than anything else. President Trump sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to certain airports to help. So far, though, the responsibilities and contributions of the deployed agents have been unclear. year. And on Capitol Hill, there's been a back and forth between Republicans and Democrats for a plan to fund the TSA, but still no concrete proposal. Consider this. Both TSA and ICE fall under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security, but the two agencies have different responsibilities.

1:17What impact, if any, will deploying ICE agents to airports have? And what can travelers expect as Washington continues to spar over a funding deal?

1:29From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow.

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2:59It's Consider This from NPR.

3:23across the country to assist the TSA. To give us a sense of how airports around the U.S. are managing all of this, we're joined by Keith Jeffries. He is the former Federal Security Director for TSA at Los Angeles International Airport. Welcome. Thanks, Scott. I mean, just directly, what would you say the biggest security challenges are with this many workers being out, with lines being this long? The biggest challenge is the security risk that it brings to the aviation sector. The crowds, the angst, the stress, and the shortage of personnel to get them through from point A to point B safely. And is it fair to say that you're looking at the same dynamics, maybe magnified dynamics, of just what happens to human beings when they're made to wait in a long line, that the temper is going to be higher and that can lead to more problems?

4:11Yeah, there's no doubt about that. I mean, it's been years since TSA first rolled out in 2002. So we haven't had these kind of wait times since then. We are seeing record wait times even going back to when TSA first rolled out. And that's just unacceptable, not just because people are waiting. They have a job to do. But, yeah, don't stand in that line. figure out a way to work around that mode of transportation for that day. So we're seeing a lot of agents, for one reason or another, not show up to work or take a few days off here and there due to the extenuating circumstances. We are seeing these long, long lines.

4:53We now have ICE involved at some airports. My understanding is they're not doing direct passenger screening, and the initial reports or the wait times have not gone down at all. Do you have a sense of what these ICE agents are doing at airports? Yeah, I do have a sense of it. And I think that the traveling public is just, they're just not aware. So each airport will be different. I think it would be easier or best, Scott, if I explain to you from the top down. So DHS heard from the president, we want ICE agents in airports. DHS would reach out to TSA in Washington, say, hey, hypothetically, give us your top 10 airports or top 15 airports that have the most call outs.

5:34the highest percentage of call-outs. Then they say, okay, here's the airports. They want to know what the airports are going to and what's their role going to be. TSA hopefully told them, I know this is how it's supposed to work, tell the field leaders, the federal security directors in the field, you're getting five agents, Keith. Deploy them as you see fit or 10 agents. And then I meet with my team in that airport community and talk to them. I'm getting 10 agents that's reporting to work on Monday, I highly recommend crowd control, crowd monitoring, and see if that support is there. That's all I would need them for there.

6:10However, could they do other things? The short answer is yes, such as exit lanes would require a little bit of training, possibly some shadowing. I'm not saying I would put them there, but because you're only going to free up one person. Could they eventually be moved to the ticket document checker location where you hand your boarding pass and ID? The answer is yes. What would you recommend as a solution or a step that an airport can take to kind of minimize this? Well, I think the number one thing that it's on the tip of everyone's tongue right now is we got to get these lawmakers to pass a budget and pay these people.

6:45That's step number one. Airport directors, they know constant communication because even the federal employees that are not receiving a paycheck, what we're all after is when is it going to end? When do you think we're finally going to get paid? And also that communication is from the leadership of both the airports, the federal employees, how can we help? What do you need? Don't wait till it's a catastrophe. Let us try to get you some help and support that you need. And you see an outpouring from the communities in many locations and you still have the 40 % plus call outs. Now, these are people making real life decisions and I understand that.

7:25But at the same time, you know what? They took an oath. They understand the mission and they need to be in there to keep that traveling public safe. And I guarantee you 99 % of all of those employees are trying their best to do that. We've been talking a lot about the challenge of managing the situation from a staffing point of view. I'm wondering, given your expertise, given your background, what you would say to travelers right now, somebody who's getting on a plane this weekend and is pretty anxious about it. Yeah. The top of the list is you've got to be patient. And the traveling public really needs to understand how much when they go through and they simply turn to that TSA agent or greet them and say, thanks for being here.

8:07I know you're not getting paid, but we appreciate what you're doing to keep us safe. Something as simple as that truly puts a bounce in their step for the rest of their shift. I know that oversimplifies things, but that is the truth. So be courteous. And if you walk into an airport and you're seeing a four-hour wait time, my recommendation, I know airport directors and airlines will probably hate me for this, I'm not standing in line four hours either. I'm turning around and going back home. That trip can't be that important. That's Keith Jeffries, former Federal Security Director for TSA at LAX.

8:39These days, he is the Vice President for the K2 Security Screening Group. Thanks for talking to us. Thank you, Scott. Before we go, a plug. You can join our colleagues in NPR's National Security Podcast, Sources and Methods, for a live virtual event March 31st. Host Mary Louise Kelly and reporter Greg Myrie will talk about the latest news from Iran, covering the Intelligence Committee, and they will answer your questions about Iran and the national security beat. To get your invite, you can sign up for NPR Plus. You will receive a registration link by the end of this week, and your membership supports the reporting you hear on this show every day.

9:12Sign up now at plus.npr.org and watch your email. That's plus.npr.org. This episode was produced by Jordan Marie Smith and Alejandro Marquez-Hance with audio engineering by Ted Meebane. It was edited by John Ketchum. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan.

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