Originally Posted by eyecue
... The fact is that carrying over 10k in cash without declaring it for export is illegal. If TSA runs into that amount of money then they cannot ask the passenger where they are going with it. They cannot check to see if the passenger has a connecting flight out of the country. Therefore the LEO and ICE are called to continue the investigation. That is what happened here.
Exactly...so there is no law being broken by someone carrying 10K+ cash with them while traveling domestically....and therefore there is no reason nor obligation for TSA to call the LEO or ICE. Period. If the cash is seen, it should be ignored by the TSA and the passenger permitted to proceed. It is none of the TSA's business. If your only reasoning for calling the police is because you suspect the passenger could leave the country with it, the reasoning is flawed. You have no evidence that the passenger has not already filled out the proper form if they are leaving the country, nor do you have any evidence they are actually leaving the country and thus not breaking the law.
It is your job to screen passengers for prohibited items to ensure the safety of air travel - it is NOT your job to screen for cash, drugs, warrants, unpaid child support, overdue library books or anything else that falls outside the narrow scope of securing the aircraft and terminal sterile area from the introduction of a prohibited item.
Bart, in response to your last paragraph, I have to disagree - it is not your job to turn anything over to law enforcement that is not a clear violation of a specific aviation security statute, such as the CFRs that you mentioned. So, if there is no gun/knife/blade/bomb in the bag, then regardless of the cash, cocaine, marijuana, porn, or whatever, you have no right or obligation to involve anyone from law enforcement in the matter.