Bill aims to block TSA data sharing with ICE after airport arrests
Georgia lawmaker co-sponsors bill against ICE
Federal lawmakers introduced legislation to block TSA data sharing with ICE following a surge in airport immigration arrests.
ATLANTA - Advocates and lawyers are warning about a rise in immigration arrests at U.S. airports, with reports showing that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is targeting people who are in the country legally.
What they're saying:
Immigration attorney Charles Kuck said, "What's happening now is ICE is under tremendous, tremendous pressure to arrest as many people as possible to meet daily calls from the White House. The simplest way to meet this quota is not to go on the street and randomly look for people. It's that people come to you."
That information pipeline is fueled by a data-sharing agreement between the Transportation Security Administration and ICE, exposing passenger details the moment they clear checkpoints.
"The law that we've lived with for the last 50 years, which is if you're in lawful status and you have an extension pending, you're lawfully here. ICE is now taking the position that no, unless it's approved, you're not lawfully here, and we can detain you," Kuck explained.
Kuck said the enforcement sweep is catching people completely off guard, even those with pending legal protections.
"I have four cases right now," Kuck said. "The individuals were picked up at airports. And one of them is still in custody. We're still trying to wait for a bond hearing to get him out. And every one of those people has historically been considered to be in status."
What we know:
In response, federal lawmakers have introduced the No TSA Data for ICE Act to block coordination between the agencies.
Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., is co-sponsoring the legislation. She slammed the current ICE operations in a written statement.
"The TSA should play no part in Trump's and ICE's terror campaign," Williams said. "It's exploitative, dangerous, and a violation of people's privacy."
What we don't know:
It remains unknown if ICE responded to requests for comment regarding the airport arrests.
It is unclear how many individuals have been detained nationwide under the TSA and ICE data-sharing agreement.
It has not been disclosed when Congress will vote on the proposed No TSA Data for ICE Act.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from immigration attorney Charles Kuck, who detailed ongoing airport detentions, as well as a written statement from Rep. Nikema Williams.