Instead of Bringing Accountability to ICE, Trump Chooses To Have Travelers Wait For Hours In TSA Lines
The administration is also detaining teen mariachi musicians instead of ending its shutdown and agreeing to common-sense reforms reining in ICE.
The Trump administration’s partial DHS shutdown has been responsible for travelers waiting in TSA lines for more than three hours, leaving airports to warn passengers to arrive for their flights as much as five hours ahead of their scheduled departure time.
“At William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, long lines snaked through concourses, down stairs and through baggage claim,” The New York Times reports. “There were similar scenes at Louis Armstrong International Airport outside New Orleans as lines stretched into the parking garage. In Houston, only one security line was open early Sunday morning, and the T.S.A. PreCheck line, which allows for expedited screening, was closed.”
“Nikoma Wolf was standing near the end of the line, debating if she should stick it out,” the report continued. “I have to go back to Dallas, and when I saw this line I was almost like, Should I just rent a car and drive at this point? I could get there in eight hours if I don’t stop,” she said. Others who did want to fly were left behind despite arriving two hours early, as typically recommended in the past. Under the administration’s partial shutdown, it just wasn’t enough time.
“I got here at 8:30, was in line by 9, but I realized it was going to take too long,” said Ailie Caldeira, who had an 11:15 a.m. departure time. “I wasn’t even to the top of the escalator and it was already 11 a.m. There was no hope.”
The administration has attempted to deflect blame for the long lines, hours of waiting and missed flights, including minimizing the partial shutdown as a “political stunt.” But which party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress? The administration could begin to end the partial shutdown today if it would just stop playing games with travelers and focus on reining in ICE. In one of the clearest signs yet that Americans are repelled by the administration’s ongoing agenda, a slew of recent polling shows that voters support blocking more funding for ICE if it means accountability in the end.
Hart Research polling found that a majority of voters “express support for Democrats demanding reforms to ICE and blocking DHS funding unless those reforms are adopted,” Semafor reported last month. “The specifics of Democrats’ demands have overwhelming support, too: Nearly eight in 10 surveyed support requiring judicial warrants for agents to search private property, for instance.”
“Many of the proposed reforms to ICE floated by lawmakers are popular,” Navigator found in its polling. “In particular, the most popular are requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras (86% support), requiring all ICE agents to go through full criminal background checks (84% support), requiring ICE agents to de-escalate conflict whenever possible (76% support), and setting standards of conduct for ICE agents, meaning they could be prosecuted if violating them (76%) support).”
These are not extreme demands – they are basic checks that federal officers should already be following. Yet what the administration has been making clear is that it believes that kidnapping a pair of teen mariachi performers is more important than accountability and order, after detaining two brothers who were recognized last year for their musical talents by their congressmember, Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX15). Antonio Yesayahu Gámez-Cuéllar, 18, and Caleb Gámez-Cuéllar, 14, had been detained since last month after what was supposed to be a routine check-in with ICE, The Texas Tribune reported.
“They’ve always had these check-ups,” said Neri Fuentes, assistant director for McAllen High School’s mariachi band. “We know how they are and that they’ve always followed the rules and followed the directions so we really didn’t think that anything was going to happen.”
Following outrage from the local community and lawmakers like Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX20), Antonio, Caleb, and the rest of their family were released from detention on Monday. Antonio was accompanied by Rep. De La Cruz, who said in a statement that the day “should not be about politics,” The Texas Tribune said. “What this day is about is about common sense enforcement policies.”
Perhaps she should take her own advice. Last year, Rep. De La Cruz was a key vote for the bill that made ICE the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the nation. In a statement last July, Rep. De La Cruz said she was “proud” to vote for the bill that gave White House mass deportation architect Stephen Miller $170 billion to make his mass deportation fever dreams come true while working families struggle to pay their rent, electric bill, childcare, and keep their fridges stocked.
Following the release of the Gámez-Cuéllars on Monday, family members said that Rep. De La Cruz “had not shown interest in their case until the public outcry,” The NY Times reported. “And later Monday, a person close to Antonio said his release from the center in Raymondville had been delayed until the Republican congresswoman could arrive for a photo opportunity.” Her office disputes that.
And, let’s not forget that the Kavanaugh stops of American citizens continue unabated. “Family and friends of a U.S. citizen from the northern suburbs say they are furious after she was detained by federal officers at O’Hare International Airport and held for more than 30 hours,” NBC News reports. Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi was reportedly told she had “some curious travel history” and was subsequently shipped to a detention facility more than 150 miles away. But her loved ones say that officers lied to them about her exact whereabouts during this ordeal. “Relatives said their biggest concern is that if it can happen to a U.S. citizen, it could happen to anyone,” the report said.
Recent election results continue to show that the American public is rightly sickened over the administration’s deeply unpopular anti-immigrant policies. “Latino voters flocked to Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Texas in droves, reversing a long-running erosion for the party ahead of this year’s pivotal midterms,” Politico reported. “The numbers were dramatic: In five different rural majority-Latino counties, more votes were cast in Tuesday’s Democratic primary than for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.” Politico notes that Latino areas had already shown strong numbers during the recent races in Virginia and New Jersey last fall.
In Texas, these “very Hispanic counties are amongst the swingiest in the country,” Republican strategist Mike Madrid told the outlet, “and they’re really telling us something.”
UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, shared in recent polling that immigration raids are a top concern of Latino voters. “One-third believe the Trump administration’s immigration actions violate civil rights and civil liberties and put U.S. citizens at risk of being detained and deported. Another third of those polled believe ICE is out of control and needs strong oversight and major reform. Only 14% support the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement and deportations.”