A union spokesperson for Transportation Security Administration employees predicts an “operational disaster during the summer travel season at airports” as the Trump administration diverts the agency’s funding and manpower to address the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Jacque Simon, public policy director for the American Federation of Government Employees, had nothing but bad things to say about a recently unveiled plan to move a few hundred TSA employees to the border, which also included the delay of TSA equipment purchases to help deal with thousands of illegal immigrants flooding in from Mexico every day.
Simon claimed in an interview with NPR that the “very troubling” plan will put Americans at risk, while likely infuriating summer travelers forced to wait in long lines.
“Moving over a few hundred employees is bad enough,” Simon told NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Wednesday. “But the plan that we heard about yesterday is a lot more severe than that. They’re talking about reallocating, repurposing money that’s been appropriated to TSA for workers’ comp, for new equipment to detect explosives and weapons at area checkpoints.
“Well, here’s the scenario we envision – very, very long lines at airports because they’ll have to close checkpoints,” Simon said. “They won’t have enough staff.” – READ MORE