California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has slammed President Donald Trump‘s decision to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints across airports amid a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.
Washington To Deploy ICE Agents Across Airports
On Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on the social media platform X, saying that ICE agents were “trained and ready” to be deployed at the TSA checkpoints. “They run those same types of security machines at the Southern border,” Duffy said, lamenting the long lines at airports as the partial government shutdown continues.
He also accused the Democratic lawmakers of playing “political games,” reaffirming that Trump is doing “what it takes to keep AMERICAN FAMILIES FIRST.”
Gavin Newsom Slams Trump
Newsom’s official press office handle criticized the decision in a post on X. “ICE has become the president’s lawless, under-trained, personal police force, deployed to serve his agenda,” the post said, adding that the administration was proving the problem with ICE agents through the deployment “in real time.”
The post also accused the agency of not serving the law, as Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said that ICE agents would assist at airport security checkpoints amid the shutdown.
The Partial Government Shutdown
The partial shutdown, which will enter day 38, has caused widespread disruption in the aviation industry as Airlines For America, a consortium of flight operators in the U.S., urged lawmakers to end the shutdown, which stems from disagreements over the funding of ICE after its agents were involved in shootings resulting in multiple deaths across the country.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also touted a separate funding package for ICE and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies in an effort to break the deadlock and resume operations for other agencies under the DHS. Earlier, lawmakers were mulling over allocating $190 billion in funds meant for ICE and CBP to pay for TSA employees.
Elon Musk Offers To Cover TSA Paychecks
As TSA employees missed their paycheck, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk offered to cover their salaries, sharing that the “funding impasse” was “negatively affecting the lives” of many people at the airport. The offer came as airports across the U.S. urged people to support the employees with groceries and more.
U.S.-Iran War
Meanwhile, escalating tensions in the Middle East continue to rattle the travel and energy sector across the world, with Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) CEO Ed Bastian sharing that the company expects over $400 million in additional charges due to surging jet fuel costs.
The war has also resulted in several thousand flights being canceled as Trump threatened Iran with strikes on the country’s energy generation units if the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t reopened within 48 hours.
Iranian strikes on Israeli cities of Dimona, which is home to a crucial nuclear energy plant, and Arad have resulted in over 180 people injured, according to a report by Al Jazeera on Sunday, citing statements from Israel’s Ministry of Health. The strikes came after Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz was struck earlier, according to the Iranian State Television.
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Photo courtesy: Sheila Fitzgerald on Shuttertsock.com
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