By ZACH LAIRD, InDepthNH.org
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport does not anticipate federal immigration agents to be stationed there at this time, following Trump’s decision to send Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to aid airports during the partial government shutdown. The airport is currently operating normally without disruption, according to spokesperson Christina Lawson.
Congress had previously extended funding for DHS until Feb. 13 to discuss sufficient reforms as a condition of any further funding of DHS going forward, though Congress was unable to agree on a compromise, according to an online statement from U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii. The partial shutdown has since stretched into its fifth week, with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers going without pay since the shutdown began.
“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. While the Democrats continue to put the safety, dependability, and ease of our air travel at risk, President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, that are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted. This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions,” Lauren Bis, acting assistant secretary for DHS Public Affairs said.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte could not be reached for comment.
Pease Development Authority spokesperson said that Portsmouth International Airport is not aware of any additional resources being assigned to the airport for passenger and baggage screening. She added that passenger and baggage screening at the airport has not been affected by the shutdown.
Officials with Logan International Airport in Boston opted not to comment on the matter, only saying that it has not seen any impacts to the checkpoints due to the ongoing shutdown. Gov. Maura Healey did not return requests for comment.
Kim Herdman Shapiro, who handles media for local advocacy group No ICE NH, said the decision to have ICE agents assist TSA seems dangerously irresponsible.
“ICE agents are not a multi-purpose police force. Prior to this administration, their mandate was limited. Today, we’ve all seen their aggressive, militarized tactics on our streets. There is no place for that in our airports, especially not from agents doing a job for which they have no qualifications.
“The administration’s argument, as articulated by Border Czar Tom Homan, that these agents will merely provide ‘security’ while admitting they have no TSA training, is a tacit admission that this is not about solving the TSA crisis,” Herdman Shapiro said.
She said that the decision is a cynical political stunt, and that the Trump administration is “exploiting a government shutdown of its own making and using the safety of the traveling public as a bargaining chip to strong-arm Congress into funding its DHS bill.”
Herdman Shapiro continued, “This is a dangerous pattern. Using intimidation to get what you want is not how we solve complicated problems in this country. Public safety must never be held hostage by political games, and the American people should not be put at risk to score a political point.”