Rather than discussing, ad nauseum, reports from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding airport security weaknesses, Members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee learned that more Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees are packing for their deployment to the southern border.
It’s the second wave of assistance in as many months.
It was a hotly contested debate during which committee members drew strict party lines. Democrats blamed the president for possible airport vulnerabilities due to his relentless push in securing the border and his reallocation of TSA personnel to points south. The list of helpful employees runs the gamut: Pencil pushers, attorneys, clerks, and armed air marshals have all signed on to help deal with the unprecedented inflow of illegal aliens.
How Dare He!
A statement from TSA claimed that employees were asked to step in to help the U.S. Border Patrol in the ongoing crisis and that “Volunteers will support functions including transportation, distribution of meals, personal property management, and legal support.”
Appearing dumbfounded at the audacity of the crisis-no-crisis-here policy flip flop, Democrats recoiled as Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) read that the overburdened agency had already sent 200 workers the border – 172 of those folks being federal air marshals. Cummings was aghast that resources were being summarily diverted to fulfill a Trump campaign promise:
“Let me put this quite starkly: On the one hand TSA has dozens of security vulnerabilities that have languished for years, but the Trump administration is asking Congress for 700 more TSA screeners to handle huge increases in air travel. Yet, on the other hand, the Trump administration is taking more than 350 of these critical TSA employees, diverting them away from their primary responsibilities … and sending them to the southern border.”
Well, heck, if they had just funded the damn legislation to beef up Border Patrol and build the wall, TSA people would still be in the airports wielding body-wands, x-raying travelers, and confiscating contraband. Of course, TSA is in charge of security sweeps at airports and supports local and state law enforcement agencies, and it’s a stressful job in the post 911 era. Who better to assist with the biggest crisis this country faces today?
According to TSA Administrator David Pekoske, sending another round of assistance will not affect airport security. It’s simply a relocation of much needed assets. He told reporters later that “Border security is national security. This is a crisis. I have to balance off the risk at the southern border with the need to keep airports staffed.”
If Pekoske could not in good conscience pull this off, he’d be squawking and demanding the White House keep its mitts off his people.
Just Get the Border Under Control
The United States has a national security crisis that must be tamped down. It’s the federal government’s job to ensure the Constitution is adhered to and to protect citizens from threats both domestic and foreign. The principle peril we face today is unchecked illegal immigration – an orchestrated effort some believe hastened by the Democrats in congress and an open borders mentality of state governments, such as in New Mexico and California.
The reality of what was poo pooed as Trump’s delusional placating of a racist base is taking a heavy toll on those living and working around this immigration mess every day. There has been an uptick in once eradicated and contagious diseases now affecting border agents, the media relentlessly hounds and vilifies employees accusing heinous acts against children, and local community budgets are stretched beyond any capacity to handle the influx of illegal aliens. It’s simply an unfair, and avoidable, burden on American citizens, and imperative to direct help where it is needed most. Like it or not, the White House did just that.
Perhaps the ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who dissed Cummings hysterics, said it best: “The chairman is asking why the administration is sending TSA personnel to the border? Because there’s a crisis.”
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