As we previously reported, the Trump administration has begun deploying ICE agents to U.S. airports, allegedly, to assist the understaffed Transportation Security Administration, where employees have been working without pay due to a partial government shutdown. ICE has been deployed to airports to help reduce wait times, not necessarily to conduct immigration enforcement operations, although White House officials, including President Donald Trump himself, have signaled agents will be keeping an eye out for undocumented immigrants as well.
At San Francisco International Airport, a woman was arrested while traveling with her 9-year-old daughter, and it was TSA officials who reportedly tipped ICE off to make the arrest.
While reports vary on whether ICE’s presence at airports has helped reduce wait times, at least one immigration arrest was made the day before the deployment even began.
According to the New York Times, Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter were approached by an ICE agent in plain clothes on Sunday night while they were heading to their gate to visit a relative in Miami. Minutes later, she was on her knees, crying, as two agents were handcuffing her in front of her child.
According to the Associated Press, San Francisco International Airport is not among airports where ICE officers are expected to be deployed because the airport uses private contractors to screen passengers, so it is not affected by the lapse in TSA funding.
“We believe this is an isolated incident and have no reason to suspect broader enforcement action at SFO,” airport spokesman Doug Yakel said in a statement.
So, why were they there for Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter?
Well, the Times reported that it obtained federal documents detailing how the TSA is sharing information with ICE on the names and birth dates of travelers believed to have been ordered out of the U.S. by a judge.
Source: TSA Tip Led To Woman’s Arrest In Front Of Her Young Daughter By ICE At San Francisco Airport
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