Read our feature article on combating and resisting ICE terror here.
On March 23, ultra-reactionary President Trump deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to airports around the country in a stunt meant to put pressure on the Democrat mafia as part of the upcoming midterm electoral farce.
ICE is being deployed in light of the ongoing partial government shutdown involving funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It began in February over tactical disagreements between the Democrat and Republican mafias regarding the conduct of ICE officers. In the wake of mass uprisings, especially in Minneapolis, Democrat politicians sought to opportunistically ride the wave of the victories of the masses to secure electoral support.
During the shutdown, TSA employees, who are a part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have not been paid, and will have missed two full paychecks. The average TSA airport screener makes only $35,000 per year, with many living paycheck-to-paycheck. A total of 61,000 DHS employees are going unpaid. Meanwhile, Democrat and Republican mafia politicians have enjoyed several extended breaks.
Democrats wanted to bar ICE agents from masking their faces and to require judicial warrants to enter homes when serving deportation orders. None of these demands have been secured as the shutdown approaches its seventh week.
Ironically, Trump ordered ICE agents to not conceal their faces while at airports, noting that it was not an “appropriate look” for airport security—showing the total unpopularity of ICE’s terrorist tactics. Trump also threatened to send the National Guard to airports.
ICE agents have been spotted at least at 14 airports, including in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and Houston. “Border czar” Tom Homan stated publicly that ICE would merely assist with “simpler tasks” to free up critical TSA functions.
Contradicting this is the fact that ICE has been arresting immigrants at airports. On March 22, federal agents arrested Guatemalan immigrant Angelina Lopez-Jimenez, wrestling her to the ground at the San Francisco International Airport in front of her 9-year-old daughter. TSA had informed ICE of her intended travel to Miami, and ICE then proceeded to ambush her. Bystanders watched the arrest and chanted “Shame on you!” at the agents. Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter were deported to Guatemala just two days later.
Mass call-offs have plagued airports around the country as the shutdown has continued. As of March 23, more than 450 TSA agents resigned, and over 3,000 had called off work, according to DHS.
The short-staffing issues with TSA and the ensuing hours-long security check wait lines have intensified the pressure on DHS and monopolists. Airline CEOs sent an open letter to Congress demanding an end to the shutdown on March 22, a day before ICE was deployed.
As both mafias blame the other for the shutdown and jockey for electoral positioning, the increasing frequency and duration of shutdowns indicates the decomposition of imperialism and its continued economic and political crises. The political theater that plays with workers’ lives exposes the farcical nature of the elections and affirms the ongoing voter abstention among the people, which must be developed into an active boycott.
Image: ICE agents handling security checks at JFK international airport. Credit: Retrieved from social media.
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