List of airports ICE agents have been deployed to
Concerns have been raised following Donald Trump's deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to several airports across America.
In a statement shared to Truth Social over the weekend, the Republican leader authorised ICE officers to arrest 'all illegal immigrants' attempting to enter the US.
Hailing the initiative as 'brilliant and patriotic', Trump claimed his agents 'will do Security like no one has ever seen before'.
"If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before!" the 79-year-old continued. "I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, 'GET READY.'"
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Trump added that his agents would work with a 'heavy emphasis on those from Somalia, who have totally destroyed, with the approval of a corrupt Governor, Attorney General, and Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, the once Great State of Minnesota'.
He continued: "I look forward to seeing ICE in action at our Airports."
In light of the announcement, onlookers have questioned which airports will be targeted in the coming days.
According to NBC, whose journalists spoke with several senior ICE officials, at least 50 agents will be on shift at all times across some of the country's busiest facilities.
This reportedly includes:
- Chicago-O'Hare International, Illinois
- Cleveland Hopkins International, Ohio
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Georgia
- Houston's William P. Hoppy, Texas
- John. F Kennedy International, New York
- LaGuardia, New York
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Louisiana
- Luis Muñoz Marín International, Puerto Rico
- Newark Liberty International, New Jersey
- Philadelphia International, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Arizona
- Pittsburgh International, Pennsylvania
- Southwest Florida International, Florida
Trump's ruling comes amid a nationwide walkout by hundreds of TSA officers, who claim not to have been fairly paid. Their refusal to work has resulted in long queues at security, which Trump also pledged his agents would handle.
The walkout itself comes amid a Democrat shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which they'd vowed back in February would last until Trump's right-wing team ordered for ICE agents to wear identification and banned their use of face coverings.
The request came in direct response to the fatal shootings of innocent Minneapolis protestors Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
The pair, both 37, were shot dead by federal officers in January while protesting the increasingly-violent raids enacted by ICE on immigrant communities under the authority of Trump.
The same ICE source that disclosed the list of affected airports added that agents will not be responsible for screening duties.
Another insider told the news agency that ICE agents haven't received proper training in the use of magnetometers or X-ray machines, meaning they won't be expected to fully replace TSA staff.
They have, however, been trained in crowd control, monitoring lines and checking IDs.
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, News
Rhianna Benson