US President Donald Trump compared his plan to deploy ICE agents to airports to the invention of the paperclip. He called the idea “so simple” that others would wonder why they hadn’t thought of it. The partial government shutdown entered its sixth week. It left Transportation Security Administration workers without pay and airports facing massive delays. So, Trump announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be sent to terminals across the country starting Monday.
Donald Trump compares ICE at airports to paperclips
Donald Trump explained his decision to deploy ICE agents by telling a story about the origin of the paper clip. He spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force One. “It was so simple, and everybody who looked at it said, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?'” Trump said. He drew a parallel between the humble office supply and his administration’s response to airport security staffing shortages (via Independent).
The president took credit for the idea before launching into the unusual comparison. His remarks came after he announced it on social media on Sunday with a promise of “security like no one has ever seen before” as federal agents prepare to arrest “all illegal immigrants” during the deployment.
The plan has been criticized by the union representing TSA officers. The American Federation of Government Employees questioned whether ICE agents are equipped for airport security work. “ICE agents are not trained or certified in aviation security,” Everett Kelley, the union’s president, said in a statement. TSA officers spend months learning to detect explosives, weapons, and threats designed to evade checkpoint detection, he noted. “They deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be,” Kelley added.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed those concerns on CNN. “The last thing that the American people need are for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them,” Jeffries said.
It remains unclear exactly how the operation will function, with administration officials offering differing accounts of what ICE agents will do.
