TSA "deploying" employees to the border
May 16, 2019 | 7:03 am
#1
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TSA "deploying" employees to the border
TSA to the border
A TSA official speaking on the condition of anonymity said that DHS has not yet approved the list of employees identified, but that it would not include any frontline personnel who deal with travelers at airports. Instead, TSA would send lawyers, immigration specialists, and personnel who can help with meal prep and wellness checks, the official said.
May 16, 2019 | 7:10 am
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While I understand the reason for moving people to the border I would say that if TSA has 400 spare people then TSA is overstaffed.
May 16, 2019 | 9:01 am
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Instead, TSA would send lawyers, immigration specialists, and personnel who can help with meal prep and wellness checks, the official said.
Actually, 400 TSA clerks at the border crotch-groping immigrants would solve the crisis pretty quickly!
Last edited by FliesWay2Much; May 16, 2019 at 9:08 am
May 16, 2019 | 9:04 am
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Why does TSA employ immigration specialists? They should be working for CBP which has responsibility for admitting potential immigrants at airports.
May 16, 2019 | 9:09 am
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May 16, 2019 | 9:15 am
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CNN:
Reuters:
NBC News:
WMUR9:
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At least initially, the efforts will not involve uniformed airport screeners, according to the email, which says that some parts of TSA would be asked to contribute "around 10%" of its workforce.
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The deployment will initially include approximately 42 law enforcement officials and grow to about 175, the source said. Officials expect the contingent to ultimately include federal air marshals who typically fly in plain clothes on commercial flights to prevent terror attacks.
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The email indicates the bulk of the deployment will be non-screening staffers who work for TSA's federal security directors.
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At least initially, the efforts will not involve uniformed airport screeners, according to the email, which says that some parts of TSA would be asked to contribute "around 10%" of its workforce.
***
The deployment will initially include approximately 42 law enforcement officials and grow to about 175, the source said. Officials expect the contingent to ultimately include federal air marshals who typically fly in plain clothes on commercial flights to prevent terror attacks.
***
The email indicates the bulk of the deployment will be non-screening staffers who work for TSA's federal security directors.
***
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TSA staff will include 175 law enforcement officials, including air marshals, and as many as 400 security staff drawn from six U.S. cities but will not include airport screeners... The six cities were not immediately identified.
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TSA staff will include 175 law enforcement officials, including air marshals, and as many as 400 security staff drawn from six U.S. cities but will not include airport screeners... The six cities were not immediately identified.
***
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A TSA official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the DHS has not yet approved the list of 200 employees identified, but that it would not include any frontline personnel who deal with travelers at airports.
Instead, the TSA would send lawyers, immigration specialists, and personnel who can help with meal prep and wellness checks, the official said.
The deployment would also include air marshals to help with security. Typically air marshals respond to security threats on planes and in airports, carrying firearms to respond to emergencies.
***
A TSA official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the DHS has not yet approved the list of 200 employees identified, but that it would not include any frontline personnel who deal with travelers at airports.
Instead, the TSA would send lawyers, immigration specialists, and personnel who can help with meal prep and wellness checks, the official said.
The deployment would also include air marshals to help with security. Typically air marshals respond to security threats on planes and in airports, carrying firearms to respond to emergencies.
***
The email indicates the bulk of the deployment will be non-screening staffers who work for TSA's federal security directors. Second priority will be inspectors; a 2018 post on the TSA website describes that job as conducting "inspections, assessments and investigations of airlines and individuals to determine how well they comply with regulations."
May 16, 2019 | 9:35 am
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Someone isn't getting a consistent message out.
We flew out of BZN (Bozeman, MT) a couple days ago. It wasn't crowded but the line moved at a glacial pace. The TDC was cheerfully apologizing to people and making remarks about how bad it will be this summer because they are so understaffed because many of them are going to ship out to help with the border crisis.
Does this mean that no 'frontline' employees will go to the border, but they'll go to baggage and elsewhere to relieve other non-frontline employees who are going to the border?
Sounds to me like another all-expenses-paid (by the taxpayer) summer vacay for favored employees. It bothers me, because TSA is already complaining of on-going staff shortages and retention problems, and now they're further reducing staff and putting me at risk.
We flew out of BZN (Bozeman, MT) a couple days ago. It wasn't crowded but the line moved at a glacial pace. The TDC was cheerfully apologizing to people and making remarks about how bad it will be this summer because they are so understaffed because many of them are going to ship out to help with the border crisis.
Does this mean that no 'frontline' employees will go to the border, but they'll go to baggage and elsewhere to relieve other non-frontline employees who are going to the border?
Sounds to me like another all-expenses-paid (by the taxpayer) summer vacay for favored employees. It bothers me, because TSA is already complaining of on-going staff shortages and retention problems, and now they're further reducing staff and putting me at risk.
May 16, 2019 | 11:15 am
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May 16, 2019 | 11:34 am
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May 18, 2019 | 5:36 am
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Here's another article indicating that checkpoint screeners are included in the "deployment":
TSA to the border
TSA to the border
Personnel have been asked to volunteer from across the department, a TSA spokesman said in an email. Checkpoint security screeners, air marshals and other law enforcement officials will deploy to help the U.S. Customs and Border Protection deal with the migrants.
May 18, 2019 | 6:30 am
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You know, now that tax season has passed, I'm sure there are thousands of IRS employees who have down-time. Perhaps they could be deployed to the border, as well, since they have about as much skillset crossover with CBP and ICE as the average TSA employee.
May 18, 2019 | 7:04 am
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Here's another article indicating that checkpoint screeners are included in the "deployment":
TSA to the border
TSA to the border
May 18, 2019 | 8:47 am
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All frivolity and sarcasm aside for a minute, DHS has had an internal policy for years recruiting volunteer "surge" support for their various administrations and agencies. (This is most common for FEMA augmentation, which isn't limited to just DHS employees. During periods of significant disasters and clean-up, FEMA has solicited volunteers from other departments.) Employees from other parts of DHS sign up to volunteer to be deployed to support other DHS components and are placed on a list based on their skills and physical fitness for field jobs. They earn overtime, hazard pay and shift differentials, etc, according to DHS and OPM rules. Volunteers are supposed to get their supervisor's approval before being deployed. DHS simply can't get the job done with internal ICE and CBP resources, so they have dug into the TSA volunteer pool. Given the extreme visibility of the border crisis, I'm sure DHS dispensed with the supervisor approval part.
The Bloomberg article Petaluma1 linked goes into a bit more detail.
The Bloomberg article Petaluma1 linked goes into a bit more detail.