There is more than one crisis wrapped up in the stalled negotiations between Democrats, Republicans and the White House over the dual matters of funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA).
There is the crisis Democrats see in the actions of ICE during the second Trump administration, which have included mass deportations and warrantless arrests often without offering due process by agents wearing masks, lacking identification and using tactics that have led to injuries and even death. They want reform and are holding up funding for ICE until they see it.
There is the crisis at the nation’s airports, where waits to get through security and for delayed flights have reached six hours and more as unpaid TSA agents are calling in sick, even quitting. The Trump administration has refused Democrats’ proposal to separate out negotiations over ICE reform from funding for TSA, resulting in the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both ICE and TSA. Now, even Republicans are joining the Democrats in asking the President to fund TSA and negotiate ICE reform separately.
And then there is the crisis that TSA agents themselves are now grappling with after not receiving a salary for more than a month, despite 60% of them continuing to show up for work.
It is that third, very personal crisis that spurred Emily Tseffos to take action. Tseffos, the chair of the Democratic Party of Outagamie County and a candidate for the 19th Senate District this fall, has launched a campaign to help TSA agents at Appleton International Airport. Tseffos did something similar last fall during another government shutdown, when she gathered food donations to help people facing severe food insecurity when their FoodShare support was on the verge of being cut off.
As of Monday, Tseffos had helped raise more than $1,550, which will be distributed to the unpaid TSA agents in the form of gift cards, gas and groceries.
“They are stretched thin and continue to show up to keep us safe,” she said via Facebook. “We’re doing this fast and furious, guys. We are going to collect non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items, grocery and gas gift cards, and we’re going to distribute them to Appleton’s administrative offices to give to the TSA agents this Friday before the weekend hits. When the government fails us, we show up for each other.”
In her Facebook video, Tseffos wondered how the United States could spend up to $2 billion a day on the war in Iran while letting agents go unpaid.
The crisis at the airports is expected to worsen as more and more TSA agents call in sick or quit. Scenes from around the nation are of chaos and frustrated passengers. Tseffos thinks what the Democrats are seeking is justified and that the offer they have made to separate the ICE issue from TSA is more than reasonable.
“Democrats have said we will fund (ICE), but we need some accountability,” she explained. “We need you to take off your face masks. Body cameras are a must. We would like warrants to be issued before you enter anyone’s home or smash their windows. Also, we think you should wear name badges, so everybody knows who you are when you’re trying to take people. And Republicans have responded with, no, we’re not doing that. We’re not stripping any of that out.
“And I think a lot of people are asking the same question right now: How is it we have money for everything else (such as the war), but not enough to pay the people keeping our airport safely open and running. While politicians argue our neighbors are going without pay. Those are folks right here in our community.”
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