Philly lawmakers, union leaders plan to call for ICE out of PHL

Philadelphia lawmakers and union officials were set to gather at City Hall on Thursday morning, to call for ICE to remove its agents from the Philadelphia International Airport, claiming their presence has led to unsafe working conditions at the city’s airport.

Earlier this week, ICE agents were deployed at the Philadelphia International Airport in, what government officials said, was an effort to help ease long lines caused by a shortage in TSA employees amid the partial government shutdown.

Philadelphia elected officials and labor union leaders are expected to call for ICE to remove its agents from the Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday. The event will be held at 8:30 a.m. and it will be livestreamed at the top or this article.

However, some have questioned this effort as ICE agents are not trained airport screeners and lack the clearance needed to work the security checkpoint.

In a statement, organizers for Thursday’s event said that not only aren’t ICE agents helping the ongoing issues with TSA worker shortages due to a partial government shutdown, they are activity making the situation worse.

“The deployment and presence of ICE agents at PHL puts all workers — regardless of their race, ethnicity, or immigration status — at risk,” organizers wrote in a statement. “Workers and the traveling public deserve to feel safe, protected, and respected at their place of work and the airports where they travel.”

Amid the ongoing government shutdown, the TSA is seeing a worker shortage.

Already, only half of the TSA checkpoints at PHL remain open as, just last weekend, the Dept. of Homeland Security said nearly nearly 12% of ​TSA officers, or more than 3,450, did not show up for work.

In fact, TSA Deputy Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill recently told the House Committee on Homeland Security, that smaller airports could be see temporary shutdowns due to the shortages.

And, earlier week, LaShanda Palmer, a TSA officer for 24 years, told NBC10 that the pause in pay has caused her, and her fellow agents, to suffer significant financial hardships.

In Thursday event, elected officials and union leaders are expected to call for the government to end the partial shutdown, restore pay to TSA workers and get ICE out of the airport.

“The federal government already has an agency dedicated to air travel safety, and rather than funding TSA and ending the partial shutdown, the Trump administration has sent a militarized force to possibly intimidate, harass, and disrupt passengers and workers alike,” organizers said in a statement on Thursday morning’s event.

This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.