Recent reports of Customs and Border Protection agents manning the exits of airplanes and checking the identifications of passengers is not the start of a new policy, officials said Friday.
A spokesperson for CBP explained to the Washington Examiner that CBP agents did check the identification of passengers as they left a plane that landed at John F. Kennedy Airport on Wednesday, but only because they were looking for a specific person with outstanding warrants who was booked on that flight.
“This individual was ordered removed by an immigration judge due to convictions for domestic assault, driving while impaired and violation of order of protection,” the spokesperson said. “To assist our law enforcement partners, two CBP officers requested identification from those on the flight in order to help identify the individual. The individual was determined not to be on the flight.”
When asked if this would be happening more often, the spokesperson said CBP is willing to help other agencies but there are no signs this will be a frequent occurrence.
“We frequently assistant other agencies but there is no precedent or new policy in place,” the spokesperson said.
The photos raised the eyebrows of many people who are concerned about President Trump’s immigration policies and the actions of CBP officials in the wake of his immigration order. Immigration activists have been concerned in recent days about an uptick in deportations under Trump.
An ICE official told the Washington Examiner they’re not planning to call on CBP agents more often to monitor activity at airports. It’s all done on a case by case basis, the officials said.
“Emergency removal operations require complex coordination, management, and facilitation efforts to successfully remove/return aliens from the United States, the official said. ” [Emergency removal operations] accomplishes this mission through contract/chartered flights and commercial airlines for escorted and unescorted removals.”
The official added, “This is not part of a new effort or policy, but rather one instance of ICE requesting aid from CBP.”
